The Ties That Bind
by wordscreatereality
Summary: It has been three weeks since Slade Wilson has been imprisoned on Lian Yu. Oliver and his team are trying to define their roles now that the Queen fortune is no longer bank rolling their night time activities. Felicity's chance encounter with a reporter reveals that her identity as the Arrow's accomplice might be about to get leaked by a source within the SCPD.
1. Chapter 1

Note: The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.

It had been three weeks since they had dropped Slade off at A.R.G.U.S.' Supermax on Lian Yu. Felicity had been concerned that Oliver's unexpected confession would come between them so she'd tried to give him a graceful out on the island, but he didn't take it. He didn't say he loved her again but he didn't agree that a relationship between them would be unthinkable. To be honest, she was grateful he hadn't said it again. She knew the words spoken at the mansion were true, Oliver was a terrible liar, but if they rushed things now, it could end badly and neither of them wanted to lose the other. She needn't have worried that things would be awkward when they returned home, there hadn't been time. Roy had been waiting for Oliver to share his grief over Thea's departure. She was gone, disappeared without a trace, into that awful night. So now, Felicity had added searching for Thea to her ever growing task list.

Oliver, John and she had decided that the foundry was no longer fit to be their secret lair. Too many people knew of its location and now that Queen Consolidated was no longer Oliver's, there was too much risk of being discovered. They decided to move their temporary base of operations to the secret location Oliver had kept hidden from them. None of them were thrilled with Waller knowing where they were, but until Oliver was able to recover his family business and his fortune, they were out of options.

While Oliver and Digg salvaged what they could from the foundry, Felicity had done her best to make the most of their new home. It wasn't as big as their old space, but they would make do. A section had been set aside to be Oliver's new living space and she tried to give him as much of an illusion of privacy as she could. She insisted he have a real bed and not an old army cot. Oliver and Digg's new workout and sparring area took up most of the space. The salmon ladder took prime location and was in Felicity's workstation's sight line. Felicity had been grief stricken when she realized that most of her equipment had been damaged beyond repair when Slade and his army had destroyed the foundry. She was down to two working monitors and she was still trying to assess the damage to her servers. Her ability to accomplish everything Oliver needed from her was going to be seriously hampered by her loss of processing power.

Felicity was sitting on the floor in front of one of her servers, examining each circuit board and discarding those that had been fried. She sighed as she tossed yet another damaged board into the trash. Without Oliver's unlimited funds, she was going to need to get used to doing without. Her attention was drawn from the carnage of her server to the beeping coming from her workstation. Another sigh passed her lips as she read that her latest WebCrawler program had failed to find any trace of Thea. There had been zero activity on any of Thea's credit cards or bank accounts and no mention of her in any of the tabloid press. Felicity had hacked all of Thea's email and social media accounts, but there had been nothing new since the night she disappeared. Her cell phone had also remained turned off. Felicity knew that Oliver was worried, but he was trying to put on a brave face by insisting Thea would turn up once she had a chance to grieve and she ran out of money. After examining Verdant's books, it was clear Thea had been stockpiling cash.

Felicity checked in on her other Oliver projects. When she was still his Executive Assistant, she had created several back doors in the QC systems. She was monitoring the activities of all senior executives and board members in an attempt to find a way back in for Oliver. In addition to wrecking his finances, Isabel Rochev had done quite a number on Oliver's reputation, not that he hadn't made it easy for her. Felicity was working to find a way to connect Isabel to Slade so when Oliver was able to regain controlling interest in the company he could make his case to the board. Isabel had been missing since the night Nyssa had snapped her neck. Officially, she was listed as missing and presumed dead, her body never recovered. Oliver assured her that Isabel had been hit with the cure before her neck was broken, but Felicity had learned to take nothing for granted. So, running facial recognition software on Isabel had become another task her limited processing power had to deal with. Deciding that retaking a Fortune 500 was even beyond her skill set, Felicity had sought out Walter Steele to help her help Oliver retake Queen Consolidated. Walter had agreed to assist, she just needed to make Oliver think it was his idea and get him to seek out Walter.

The sound of the outer door opening and closing above her made her jump. Ever since she'd been grabbed by Slade's goons she had been extra jumpy when left on her own. Everyone had assumed that Slade holding a blade to her neck had been the worst part of her ordeal, but it didn't even come close to waiting for him to come for her. When Oliver left her alone in the darkness of the Queen mansion she had almost gone out of her mind just waiting to be abducted. Now, every creak and groan of their new lair had her heart racing and gulping for air. Felicity changed the view on a monitor to the lair's cameras and watched Oliver descend the stairs above her. His hands were full, so she buzzed him through the door that led to the lower level and moved to meet him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey." Oliver said as he gave her a smile and moved to set the box down in their new medical bay. "I thought you were heading home."

Felicity began to help him unload the contents of the box. "Is this all there was?" She asked with concern. It was bad enough that their medical equipment and Oliver and Digg's blood supply had been destroyed, but now it looked like they were really low on pain killers and antibiotics. If either of her guys were to be seriously wounded, she would be unable to treat them. She tried not to think about the night she learned Oliver's secret identity. He'd been shot by his mother and his heart had stopped. If they hadn't had a defibrillator, he would be dead and Felicity couldn't imagine her life without him in it. The life she led before Oliver was completely unrecognizable to her now.

"Felicity," Oliver said as he waved a hand in front of her face. "It's late, what are you still doing here?"

"I had some work to finish up," she said as she stacked the medical supplies onto a shelf. It was true, she did have lots of work to do, but she had stuck around because she needed to speak to him, alone. "And, I need to talk to you."

Oliver stopped what he was doing and moved towards her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, gently turning her to face him. "So, talk."

"We need to talk about getting a job." Seeing the look of frustration on his face, she went on. "Um, not you getting a job, I mean, you need to get a job, but I wouldn't tell you to get one. It's just that, I got a job."

Oliver smiled warily at her. "That's great, Felicity. So, which lucky company gets to steal away my best employee?"

"A.R.G.U.S." Felicity mumbled under her breath as she returned to stocking their shelves waiting for the reaction she knew was inevitable.

"No. Absolutely not." Oliver said tightly as he stormed over to his weapons station.

"I wasn't asking you." She said following after him. She could feel her own temper rising.

"We aren't going to discuss this. You aren't working for them and that's that." Oliver said without looking at her.

"Circumstances are not what we want. We need the money." Felicity said keeping the anger from her voice. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that without an income coming in they would be unable to continue. Diggle had returned to work in private security and his income was needed to prepare for impending fatherhood, not keeping Oliver supplied in arrows.

Oliver sighed. "Felicity, you will find another job. You can't work for A.R.G.U.S. Once Waller gets her fingers in you, she'll never let you go. You'll never be free. You will always be in danger."

"Danger and I are currently on intimate terms." Felicity snapped.

"But you can walk away. If you said enough, I'd let you go." Oliver reasoned.

"Oliver, look around you. We are running on fumes here. Our medical supplies are practically nonexistent. I'm running blind with the computers I have. I'm useless to you."

"You've never been useless to me. Computers or not, job or not." Oliver said gripping her arms. "I would rather you leave Starling City to work for STAR Labs than for you to stay here and work for Waller."

"Oliver." Felicity sighed his name. There were times when she didn't have the strength to fight him, especially when he said stuff like this.

"Felicity, please. Give it a little longer. You will find something else." Oliver pleaded.

Felicity couldn't stop herself from snapping. "I've been looking. I've called every connection I have everywhere in Starling City. I've applied to every company with an IT department but none of them will hire me."

"Felicity, please." Oliver said with despair.

"Come, look." She said as she walked back to her computer and opened a file. Newspaper articles began to tile across her screen. "This is why no one will hire me."

Oliver groaned as she began to read. Every article was a tabloid account of his fall from grace, the murder of his mother, the disappearance of his sister and the dismissal of his cute perky blond assistant. Felicity's former colleagues hadn't wasted any time contacting the press with rumors and speculations about what skills landed her the job as his assistant. Shortly after returning from the island, Oliver and Felicity had been caught by the paparazzi leaving a coffee shop together. The newspapers exploded with speculation about their alleged affair. "Felicity, I'm so sorry."

"It isn't your fault, Oliver, but we have to face facts. My MIT degree is worthless when everyone thinks I got my last job on my back. I wish I had." Felicity gasped as she realized what she said and threw her hand over her mouth. "Oh my god, I don't mean I wish I had gotten in on my back, I mean I wish it were true because it would be easier to live this now." Felicity groaned. "That didn't sound any better. I'm going to stop talking now."

Oliver smiled. "That would be my preference."

Felicity laughed remembering the last time Oliver had said those words to her. "Oliver, we need the money." She said gently.

"We don't, not this way. I'm not telling you, I'm asking you. Please, for me." Oliver fixed her with his wide blue eyes and she could feel her conviction waiver.

"Okay, I'll keep looking. I'll tell her no in the morning."

Oliver picked Felicity's phone off of her desk and handed it to her. "Why put off to tomorrow what you can do right now?"

"You are an impossible man, Oliver Queen." She said taking the phone from him.

"I know." He said sympathetically.


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity felt guilty as she slowly sipped her non-fat latte. Her tablet silently reproached her for this indulgence as she sat staring at a spreadsheet of her personal finances. In her capacity as Oliver's assistant she had been paid very well. She had tried her best to squirrel away her savings, but she had expenses. Aside from a weakness for clothes and shoes and cosmetics, she also had necessities like rent, car payments and food to think about. In addition to her own expenses, she was helping to support her mom. Every month, Felicity sent her mom's landlord a rent check. She also had groceries delivered to her mom on a weekly basis. Her mom worked as a cocktail waitress at a casino off the Las Vegas strip. Too frequently her mother's paycheck went to the casinos, booze and/or her dealer. Felicity had learned long ago never to trust her mom with cash because it never went to necessities.

Felicity rarely spoke about her childhood with Oliver and John. It's not like Oliver didn't have an epically complicated family life, but she's pretty sure her guys would look at her with pity if they knew the truth about her. Felicity's mom was practically a child when she had found herself pregnant at the age of sixteen. Her mom's parent's had thrown her out of the house and said she had to learn to take care of herself. Felicity never met her grandparents. She knew where they were, but couldn't bring herself to contact them. Her grandfather was a retired surgeon who now taught at Ivy University's Medical School. Her grandmother was a judge on a federal court. She struggled to reconcile how these two accomplished people could throw their child out of their home and condemn their grandchild to a life of poverty. No one wants their sixteen year old daughter to get pregnant, but her grandparent's reaction was practically from the Dark Ages.

Felicity spent her childhood parenting her mother and raising herself. Felicity and her mom had snuck out of more apartments under the cover of darkness to elude a livid landlord than she could count. They would crash with whichever boyfriend her mom was sleeping with or whichever girlfriend wasn't owed money, but inevitably, they would wear out their welcome and end up living in their car until her mom convinced another unsuspecting landlord to rent to them or convinced some loser to marry her. She had four step-fathers, that she could remember. Felicity had thrown herself into her school work. Her grades were something she could control and she knew that if she wanted to escape her mother's fate, she would need a scholarship. When MIT had offered her a full ride she felt as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders, but even with thousands of miles separating them, her mom, well, was still her mom. Wherever Felicity went, her mom's drama followed.

The present state of her finances would give her three months of expenses if she immediately cut out the frills - no more lattes, no more new lipsticks or nail polish, hell, no more shopping at all. She had gone without before, she knew how to make a penny stretch, she just needed to find a job before she was forced to give up her own place and move into the new lair with Oliver.

Oliver. Why had she promised him that she'd refuse Waller's offer? She didn't really want to work for the woman, she knew she couldn't be trusted, but she had been excited to get her hands on the classified A.R.G.U.S. technology. She had given in to Oliver because she couldn't bear the thought that she'd be the one adding stress to his life. Her role was to make things easier, hold him accountable and to bring him home alive every time he left the lair.

Of course, there was another option to consider. An option that could make her rich, like Facebook and Google rich. They say necessity is the mother of invention and since she became Oliver's partner, there had been a lot of necessity. She had developed several software applications that she was certain would revolutionize encryption and data mining. However, there was a risk to selling her software. She had used it to hack quite a few federal agencies. If anyone in a cyber crime unit was hunting for her, identifying herself publicly by selling the software would be a lifetime sentence to a federal prison. Felicity spent a lot of time cyber stalking the agencies most likely stalking her, but she had not found any evidence that they were pursuing her. She took some comfort in that, but she knew that it was still possible someone out in the ether was watching and waiting to spring their trap. On the other hand, if Oliver wasn't going to be a billionaire anymore it might be helpful if she was.

Felicity checked the time and sighed. She was well past the time she'd told Oliver she'd be back. She had spent the morning interviewing at a multi-national corporation where a friend worked. The first three interviews had gone well, but when the man who would be her boss leaned forward and stroked her hand saying he was looking forward to receiving the same services as Oliver Queen, it was all she could do not to use her training from Dig to break his nose. She didn't want to return to the lair and have to tell Oliver what happened. She was pretty sure that the guy would end up on the top of the Arrow's list and Oliver had just fully embraced a no kill policy. Avoidance was her strategy for the day. She planned on sitting in the coffee house, nursing her latte, until Oliver's texts became insistent.

"Is anyone sitting here?" An handsome man with a rich baritone asked.

Felicity nearly jumped out of her skin, her precious latte spilling across the table. "Shoot," she muttered as she grabbed her tablet and started to dab at the mess with her napkins.

The handsome stranger reappeared with a handful of napkins and helped to clean up the spill. "I'm sorry I startled you. What were you drinking? I'll get you another."

Felicity was about to turn him down when she realized that without her latte she'd be forced to return to Oliver and his prying blue eyes. "Thank you, a non-fat latte, please."

Less than five minutes later the man returned and sat down across from her. In addition to the latte he had purchased her an orange scone. It wasn't until he was directly across from her that she realized she knew this man. It was Vic Sage, the crime reporter for Channel 52 news who had been obsessed with the vigilante for the past two years. He extended his hand towards her, "Vic Sa..."

"I know who you are," Felicity said, interrupting him and declining his offered hand. She began to gather up her belongings and stood up. "Thank you for the latte and the scone, but I have no comment."

Vic gently grabbed her wrist and then released it. "Please, Ms. Smoak, don't go. I'll leave if you want. I just wanted to sit down and drink my coffee."

Felicity looked around the coffee house and realized there wasn't an empty table or chair to be found. She sat down cautiously. "I still have no comment about Queen Consolidated or Oliver Queen."

Vic laughed, not a condescending or a mocking laugh, but a warm genuine one that reached his eyes. "My fellow reporters can be absolute scumbags. I'm sorry you're going through this but tabloid love affairs are not what interest me. What if I promise you that nothing we say today will be on the record? We're just two people enjoying our coffees."

"You can sit here Mr. Sage, but on the record or not, I have nothing to say to you."

Vic smiled at her. "I promise to sit in silence and drink my coffee quickly. You won't even know I'm here."

"Thank you." Felicity returned her gaze to the tablet and decided to send Oliver a quick text to tell him she was running late but would be back in plenty of time to prep before he went out on patrol. Since they had returned from the island she and Dig had successfully convinced Oliver to limit his nighttime activities to patrols. His knee hadn't fully healed and Felicity was trying to keep him from causing further damage. It was easier said than done, but Oliver knew she was just shy of using her loud voice whenever he resisted moderation. Felicity had seen his last x-ray and knew that injections of lidocaine and pushing through the pain were only going to make things worse for Oliver in the long run. If it were up to her she'd tie him to his bed for six weeks and only let him move for supervised physical therapy. _Great, now I am thinking about tying Oliver to a bed._

Her text to Oliver sent and acknowledged, she turned her attention to the reporter. She observed him through her lowered lashes as she absently swiped at her tablet. He had soft wavy brown hair that framed his warm brown eyes and chiseled cheekbones. He looked to be around the same age as Oliver and the same height, but where Oliver was a solid wall of muscle, Vic was lean and lanky. She decided he was far more handsome in person than on television.

"Ms. Smoak. Felicity." Vic interrupted her reverie. "Your phone is ringing."

Felicity quickly picked her phone off the table, groaned internally when she saw it was Oliver, chose to ignore the call and dropped her cell into her purse. "Thanks."

"Does Mr. Queen call you often?" Vic asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"I thought I wasn't going to know you were even here. Besides, I thought you said you weren't interested in Oli, Mr. Queen." Felicity said harsher than she intended.

Vic put his hands up in surrender. "My only present interest in Mr. Queen is if it means you will say no if I ask you out on a date." For once Felicity was at a loss for words. "Did you hear me? I asked if you are free to go on a date with me."

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. "I heard you. Why would you want to go out with me? Even if I were to say yes, which I'm not, I still won't tell you anything about my time with Queen Consolidated."

"Felicity, you are a very beautiful woman that I'd like to take out to dinner and get to know better. Is that so hard to believe?"

Felicity tried to remember her last date. The evening spent with Barry Allen at the Queen mansion didn't really count. She hadn't been out on a real date since before she joined Team Arrow. She was having a serious dry spell. Going out with a reporter was probably colossally stupid, but how much harm could there be in one date? "Okay."

"Great, how about tonight?"

"Can't tonight, I've got plans."

"How about tomorrow. I don't want to give you a chance to change your mind." Vic winked at her.

Felicity paused and realized why she hadn't been on a date in two years. She spent every night underground guiding Oliver on his missions, everything else in her life had taken a backseat. "Earlier is better for me." She felt like she needed to provide an explanation to Vic. "I like to go to bed early." Vic's eyes went wide and he laughed. Felicity gasped in horror. "I don't mean to bed with you or anyone. Alone, I like to go to bed early, alone. " She could feel her face go crimson. _Why did everything that came out of her mouth sound so dirty?_

"Hmm, early might be tough. I'm not usually off the air until 7:00. How about 7:30 at Table Salt?"

If the date was only two hours she'd make it back to the lair right before the guys left on patrol. "Okay, I'll meet you at the restaurant."

Vic gave her another broad smile that showed off his perfect white teeth. "It's a date. I'll see you tomorrow night." He stood up from the table and once again offered his hand to her. "It was a pleasure meeting you Felicity." This time she took his hand.

As she watched Vic exit the coffee shop her phone rang again. Assuming it was Oliver, she was about to press ignore when she looked at the screen. It wasn't Oliver, but a former professor from MIT who had promised to help with her job search. She answered hoping for good news.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity practically skipped down the steps into the lair. Maybe her luck was starting to change. A date and a potential job offer, her day could only get better if Thea popped up on one of her searches and the board voted Oliver back in as CEO. "Hey," she said as she waved to Oliver and Roy who were sparring on the mat. Roy made the mistake of looking up at the sound of her voice and Oliver flipped him onto his back, pinning him to the ground.

"Never allow yourself to be distracted. Especially, by a beautiful woman." Oliver said to Roy, offering a hand to pull him to his feet. "That's enough for today. I don't want you too tired for patrol tonight." Before Oliver could change his mind, Roy grabbed his towel and water bottle and headed for the bathroom.

"You're taking Roy out tonight?" Felicity asked with surprise. Roy hadn't been diligent with his training since they returned from the island. Roy was moping about Thea and was still more than a little resistant to Oliver's authority.

"Diggle's got to work some high society charity event tonight. I thought I'd give the kid a chance to go out into the field." Oliver said as he leapt to grab a bar over his head. Felicity loved to watch him pull his legs up and over his head so he could secure his feet to the bar and do some inverted crunches. "How'd the interviews go?" Oliver asked as he lowered himself out of a crunch.

"The job wasn't a good fit for me, but one of my professors from MIT called to say he lined up an interview for me with an old friend of his who is doing research at Starling City University. His friend needs a programmer who can write code to help him analyze some research data. It doesn't pay a lot, but it should cover my expenses, not to mention the job could rehabilitate my resume."

Oliver grunted, "Sounds good."

Felicity turned back to her computer and began to scan the day's headlines, looking for someone who might deserve the attention of the Arrow. Since Slade's attack on the city, things had been relatively quiet. Starling City's criminal class had either all met a grim end or were being uncharacteristically well behaved. Oliver was taking the opportunity to take out some low level crime bosses that were trying to take power due to the vacuum created when the Triad and Frank Bertinelli's organizations were decimated. She was reading an article about a rash of break ins on the docks when Oliver sat down on the edge of her desk, pulling a gray hoodie over his head, obscuring her view of his glistening chest. She no longer got tongue tied when she saw him bare-chested, but she could still appreciate the beauty that was Oliver Queen's abs.

"Thank you." Oliver said quietly. "I know I was a bit of a jerk with the whole Waller thing."

"You're welcome?" Felicity asked teasingly. "You know you really suck at apologies."

"That's because I hardly ever do anything wrong." He winked at her and gave her the smile that was reserved for her alone.

Felicity began to laugh. She was glad Oliver was in a good mood tonight. There had been way too much guilt, fear and sadness over the past year. They were all due for some good luck. Maybe the announcement that there was going to be a baby Diggle was a harbinger of good things to come. "How's the knee?" She asked, noticing that he was absently rubbing it.

"Sore, but I'll tape it before we head out tonight." He nodded to her monitor. "So, what do you have planned for this evening?"

Felicity dragged her eyes from his knee back up to his eyes. "There's really nothing going on that the SCPD can't handle. Why don't you take the night off and give your knee a rest?"

"Felicity, I'm fine. I've had worse injuries before."

"Why do you say that like it should reassure me? If I had a dollar for every injury I've cleaned, taped, iced or sutured, we could all retire to Fiji."

Oliver smiled at her. "I've spent all the time I ever want to on an island."

Felicity blushed, stifling a yawn. "Right, no islands. As long as there is sun, fruity umbrella drinks and no one is trying to kill us, I'll be happy." Oliver furrowed his brow and looked like he was about to ask her a question.

Just then, her monitor beeped, indicating one of her servers was malfunctioning. "Damn it, not another one." She said stepping around Oliver.

She was about to unscrew the server's cover when Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder. "Felicity, is everything okay?"

"I'll let you know in a minute. If we lose any more mother boards, I might have to resort to using Magic 8 Balls to guide you."

Oliver turned Felicity to face him. "I don't care about the servers. I am worried about you. You look tired. When was the last time you slept?"

"Oliver, I sleep every night. I'm fine." The truth was Felicity hadn't slept through the night since Moira Queen was murdered. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Oliver dead with a sword through his chest. She'd been so afraid Slade would kill Oliver that she never contemplated Slade would put a blade to her own neck. Now when she slept she could feel the cold blade pressed against her throat and in her dreams she had failed to inject him with the cure. Slade would put his blade through her back and she would watch helplessly as he did the same to Oliver. "Just some bad dreams. Nothing for you to worry about."

"I do worry. You know you can tell me anything. I know I asked a lot of you that night."

"It was my choice Oliver." In an attempt to rid him of the deep crease in his brow she said, " and I always bet on Queen."

Oliver pressed his lips tightly together. "You're avoiding my question. What are you dreaming about?"

"You first." Felicity deflected.

To her surprise he answered, "In my dreams my plan failed and Slade kills you. You die in my arms and I'm powerless."

"In my dream, I fail to inject Slade. I fail you and you die in front of me." Felicity looked down at Oliver's bare feet. She doesn't want him to think that she is weak. He says that she is his partner and she knows he values her opinion, but she also knows that if he could he would lock her away from all danger. If something had happened to her, he would've blamed himself for intentionally putting her in harm's way.

She feels his fingers under her chin and he gently lifts her eyes to meet his. "Tell me," he whispers.

"Even though I knew Slade would be coming for me, when his goons showed up and I knew that I had to be brave for you and everyone else, I was terrified. It was all I could do to stand my ground and not run when they came through the door. I didn't want to let you down."

"It would be impossible for you to ever let me down." She really wished he would stop doing that. Just when she would successfully lock away her feelings for him, he would say something that would obliterate the lock and make her heart flutter.

Turning back to her server she said, "Keep that in mind when I start finding you criminals via a Ouija board."

Oliver chuckled and left her to her work. She disgustedly pulled out another circuit board, grateful that there hadn't been a cascade failure. If she took the job at SCU, maybe she could hack into their system and borrow some of their computing power.

Oliver ignored her suggestion to take the night off. He and Roy patrolled around the docks, but to Felicity's relief everything was quiet. Roy didn't stay five minutes after they returned around 1:00am. Oliver changed and waited for Felicity to gather her belongings. He had gotten into the habit of following her home and waiting for her to text him when she was safely inside her apartment. As they climbed the stairs to the street, Felicity considered telling Oliver the first lie of their relationship. "I'm going to be a little late tomorrow night."

Oliver put his hand on the small of her back and guided her out the door. "I think we can mange one evening without you."

Felicity suddenly felt sick. She couldn't lie to him, even one of omission, not to Oliver. Too many people had already lied to him and she wasn't going to start now. "Oliver, wait," she said turning to face him. " I'm afraid you won't approve."

"Felicity, what is it?" Oliver asked with concern. "It's not A.R.G.U.S. again?"

"I met a guy at a coffee shop today and he asked me out on a date. I was going to say no because it all seemed too complicated. It's not like I can easily explain where I am all night. But one date, it couldn't hurt, right? It's not like there will be a second date. Can you imagine dating me? I don't mean you actually dating me, but someone in general dating me." Felicity groaned. "See, me and my motor mouth that rarely seems connected to my brain don't make for great date conversations."

Felicity saw Oliver's eyes lose focus for a second before he returned his gaze to her. "Hey. Whoever this guys is, he is damn lucky and would be a fool not to ask you out for as many dates as you want him to."

Felicity shrugged. "In that case, I better start working on my cover story."


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity's day was going well. She had met with Professor Emil Hamilton and discussed the assistance he would need in analyzing the work he was doing on cybernetics and the human genome. He was trying to create artificial limbs that could interface directly with the brain. He offered her the job on the spot and they agreed to her starting work the following Monday. His research was being funded, in part, by Luther Corp and she was going to be receiving a larger salary than she'd first thought. It didn't come close to what Oliver had been paying her, but it would take the pressure off.

She had returned to her apartment and had enough time to text Oliver and Diggle the good news about her new job before she had to get ready. Table Salt was the preferred restaurant of the Starling City elite and it was close to Vic's network office. Felicity would've preferred someplace more low profile, but working with Oliver had gotten her used to living outside her comfort zone. She put on a form fitting black, knee-length sleeveless dress. Her hair was down in soft waves and she had her contacts in. When she arrived at the restaurant, on time, Vic was waiting for her at the bar. She appreciated Vic being there when she arrived as she always felt self-conscious when she arrived someplace fancy before Oliver did, which happened more often than not. Vic was devastatingly handsome in a well tailored navy blue suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

"Felicity, wow, you look incredible." Vic said taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said blushing. "You clean up well too."

"Clothing is one of the perks of being on television. Another is getting the chef's table when you have a beautiful girl to impress."

As if on cue, the maitre de arrived to escort them through the dining room and into the kitchen where they were seated at a table in a small alcove. The chef brought plate after plate of delicious food. Felicity nursed one glass of delicious Pinot Noir the entire night. She couldn't afford to let her guard down in front of a reporter, plus she had several hours of work ahead of her.

Felicity and Vic fell into an easy rhythm of conversation. He asked her about her childhood and she left it to the basic facts; Las Vegas; single mom; only child. He pressed further but she refused to discuss anything earlier than her time at MIT. Once they got to her graduation, she refused to offer anything more than getting a job in the IT department of Queen Consolidated and than being promoted to Oliver's executive assistant.

Vic talked about growing up in Coast City with his two older sisters and younger brother. His childhood sounded idyllic and he laughed easily when discussing the adventures he and his siblings had gotten into. He became interested in journalism after his eldest sister's boyfriend had been killed in Iraq. He became a war correspondent but opted to return state side to become a crime reporter after his translator had been murdered.

"So, what are you working on now?" Felicity asked with curiosity. He might have some interesting leads she could pass on to Oliver and Diggle. "I imagine there is a lot to uncover about Mayor Blood."

"Nah, everyone and their uncle is working the Blood angle or where the PCP came from that had all those escaped prisoners on a rampage. I'm still more interested in the vigilante. He killed, then he disappeared, then he returned and reduced his body count. I would love to understand why."

"Really, the Arrow?" Felicity asked attempting to sound casual. "Is he giving you an interview?" Felicity couldn't help but smile thinking about Oliver agreeing to an interview. He'd be more agreeable to her slapping on a mask and charging around the city with a bow and arrow.

"Why are you smiling?" Vic asked. "Not that I mind your smile."

"Unless the Arrow agrees to be interviewed, I think the story is a bit of a dead end - nothing to report."

"You're right, but can I tell you a secret?" Vic asked as he leaned across the table. Felicity took a sip of her wine hoping his secret wasn't bigger than hers. "I have a contact at the SCPD and he says there is a file that contains the name of a known associate of the vigilante. He's going to give me the name of that person and I'm going to turn his life inside out. He'll be my way to the vigilante."

Felicity began to choke on her wine. Only two people at SCPD knew her name, Detective Lance and Simon Kelton, the IT guy who spotted her hack of Merlyn Global Group. With Lance still recuperating in the hospital, she had no way of determining how secure that file was and even if Lance included her name. Kelton had been killed by one of Slade's goons. She had attended his funeral out of respect. They had come to a mutual understanding through Lance. If Kelton found any evidence of her helping the Arrow he never included it in the official investigation. Felicity had no idea if he kept any files on her. It might be only a matter of time before her name became part of the public record. This was her worst nightmare. Once the world knew who she was, she would become useless to team Arrow. Even worse, she'd become a liability for Oliver. "Sorry, it went down the wrong pipe. I can't listen and drink at the same time." Felicity coughed. "Do you really think the Arrow has help? I would think he'd act alone - kind of hard to have secret identity if someone knows it."

"The only way two people can share a secret is for one of them to be dead."Vic said knowingly.

"Yeah, something like that. If the Arrow does have help, won't you be putting his assistant in danger if you expose him?"

"Felicity, I know the tabloids and most of the public have romanticized him, but he is a criminal and anyone who helps him is a criminal. I'm sure the DA will go easy on the assistant if he flips on the vigilante."

"I guess you're right." Felicity said trying to smile.

"The vigilante saved your life right?" Vic asked, his tone shifting to match his on-air persona.

"Vic, I didn't come to dinner to discuss the Arrow any more than I did to discuss the Queen family."

"Apologies, force of habit." Vic said. They finished their meal discussing the rebuilding efforts going on in the Glades.

When he walked Felicity to her car, he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek and asked if she would see him again. Before she could respond the night sky lit up with the flash of paparazzi light bulbs. "Oh, God." Felicity said as she brought her purse up to her face. Her car had become surrounded by a half a dozen paparazzi, all calling out to her.

"Felicity, where's Oliver tonight?"

"Does Oliver know you're out with Vic Sage?"

"Felicity, how much is Vic paying you?"

Felicity was vaguely aware of Vic speaking to the photographers, but all she could focus on was getting in her car and getting away. She pulled out of her spot, nearly running one of them over. In her rear view mirror she spotted Vic standing in the street watching her leave. Three of the paparazzi were in pursuit on motorcycles. "Oh, god. Oh, god, Oh, god." She slammed her hand against the steering wheel cursing her stupidity. She popped in her headset and said. "Call, Oliver."

"Hey," he answered.

"Oliver," she said, suddenly aware of the hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Felicity, what's wrong?" Oliver's voice was calm but she could hear the tension behind his words.

"I'm being followed by paparazzi. They were waiting for me after my date. I don't know what to do. They're on motorcycles." A strangled cry escaped her lips as one of the motorcycles pulled up alongside her and a camera flashed in her face. Felicity could barely see the road for the spots in front of her eyes. "Oliver," she cried.

Listen to me. I need you to go home. Don't speed, don't run any lights. Pretend like they aren't even there." Oliver said firmly. "Do you hear me?"

"Yes," Felicity said as she choked back a sob and lessened the pressure on the gas pedal.

"That's my girl. I'll meet you at your place. Just get inside your apartment. Do your best to ignore them." Oliver said soothingly.

"Don't Oliver, that will make it worse." She pleaded." They're asking about you."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. No one will see me, I promise." Oliver said, terminating the call.

Felicity took several deep breaths in an attempt to get her emotions under control. The less emotion she showed the less interesting she'd be to the photographers. She drove the rest of the way home, obeying all the traffic laws. She sat at every red light and stared straight ahead, ignoring the flashes lighting up the night sky around her. She sighed with relief when she spotted a spot right in front of her building. She gathered all her belongings, took off her high heels and had her apartment key ready in her hand. She sprinted up the walkway, ignoring the men shouting at her to give them one comment about her relationships with Oliver and Vic. Despite her shaking hands, she managed to open her apartment door, ran up the stairs and let herself into her darkened apartment. Felicity dropped her shoes, purse and keys onto the floor as she leaned against the front door for support. A sob escaped her lips and she clasped a hand over her mouth. She sensed Oliver in her apartment and didn't want him to hear her crying.

His arms were around her before she could acknowledge him. He pressed her against his chest as she was racked by sobs. "It's okay, Felicity. You're safe." He held her the few minutes it took her to regain her composure.

"How'd you get in?" Felicity asked into his chest.

"The fire escape." Oliver felt Felicity tense in his arms. "What?"

Felicity looked up at him. "Really, the fire escape? Isn't that a bit over the top, even for you?"

"Would you prefer the Arrow to walk through the front door and chat with your neighbors in the elevator?"

"God, I really hate it when you're right." Felicity said as she sniffled.

She pulled away and moved to turn on a light. His hand circled her wrist. "Close all the shades and curtains. We don't want them using a telephoto lens."

Felicity wordlessly moved from room to room lowering shades and drawing curtains. When she returned to the living room, Oliver had turned on the light, his brow furrowed in concern.

Felicity caught her reflection in the mirror and gasped. Her nose was running, her eyes were red and her mascara had run, leaving her with two black eyes. "I'm a mess."

"I happen to appreciate that look." He lowered his hood and removed his mask. "I'm sorry, this is my fault. Are you okay?"

"We need to talk." Felicity realized she needed a minute to pull herself together and excused herself. After washing her face and changing into a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, she decided it was time to confess about her date. Oliver was sitting on her sofa, his bow and quiver resting against the window. She retrieved her tablet from the coffee table and sat down beside him. She opened the app that alerted her to any reference to _Felicity Smoak_ in the press. Sure enough, several photos and videos were up of her and Vic, her driving and her arrival at home. She resignedly handed the tablet to Oliver and watched as he clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. He handed the tablet back to her and walked to the other side of the living room. She watched him take three deep breaths before he turned to face her.

"A reporter, Felicity? Please tell me you didn't know who he was when you agreed to a date." Oliver said angrily.

"Of course I knew who he was. I didn't think there would be any harm in one date." Felicity said defensively.

"When you told me you had a date, I thought it was with some little coffee house nerd, not the guy trying to expose the vigilante."

Felicity chose to ignore his comment about the little coffee house nerd. "I told him I wouldn't discuss you or Queen Consolidated."

"I just don't understand how you could be so reckless." He shouted.

"Don't you dare lecture me about reckless dating. Would you like to discuss psycho Helena, officer McKenna or the revolving door that is the Lance sisters." Felicity was using her loud voice, but she didn't care. Oliver's jaw was grinding away and his fists were clenched. "I'm entitled to a life too, Oliver. You can't expect me to spend my whole life in a basement waiting on you...and the others to come home safely every night."

Oliver's eyes lost their steely edge and his body relaxed. "Of course not. I want you to be happy, but I also want to keep you safe."

Before she could respond, the buzzer for the front door sounded, causing her to jump. The paparazzi had never been so brazen as to ring her doorbell before. "I'm calling the cops," she said hostilely into the speaker.

"Felicity, it's Vic. Are you okay?" He sounded genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine." Felicity said as she realized he was at her front door. "Vic, how do you know where I live?"

"I wouldn't be much of an investigative reporter if I couldn't track you down." Felicity could hear him smiling. "I'm sorry about tonight. So much for the solidarity of the press. Other than how it ended, I had a great time tonight. I'd like to see you again. Maybe next time we won't need to say goodnight through speakers."

Felicity felt her face catch fire as she could feel Oliver's eyes boring into the back of her head. "Thank you for an eventful evening. I'll need to think about trying again. Goodnight, Vic." Felicity released the button on the speaker and slowly turned to face Oliver. "Well, that was awkward."

"Did you stop to think this guy tipped off the paparazzi about your little date? It gets him a lot of free press." Oliver said coldly.

"I'm choosing not to live in your cynical world. He asked me out because he likes me, not because the press is saying I slept with you." Felicity leveled her best, _you can be such an insensitive jerk_, glare at Oliver.

Oliver sighed. "Even if this guy has honorable intentions towards you , you have to know this is a bad idea. If he is looking into my alter ego, he will start putting things together. He will eventually figure out who you really are and who I am."

"He's going to figure it out a lot sooner than you think." Felicity whispered as she sat back down on the sofa.

"What?" Oliver asked, returning to sit by her side.

"He has a source inside the SCPD who told him they know the identity of the vigilante's associate. Someone is going to give me up."

Oliver's whole body tensed and he ran his hands across his head. Felicity knew him well enough to know that if they were at the lair, he'd be hitting something, hard. "This is my fault, I should never have exposed you to Lance."

"Oliver, we made that decision together. It was the right one, at the time." Felicity squeezed his hand. "Everyone at the precinct saw me the night Lance brought me in for questioning. I don't know if it is possible to keep this quiet. I'm surprised I've gotten away with it this long. Maybe, I should take the job with STAR Labs in Central City."

"No. Running isn't going to help. Let me think." Oliver began to pace the floor.

Felicity watched him pace for a few minutes. "Why don't I talk to Detective Lance? I can visit him in the hospital."

"No, you can't be seen visiting Lance." Oliver sat back down on the sofa. "I think we should ask Laurel to speak with her dad."

Felicity had not yet gotten used to thinking of Laurel as a member of team Arrow. As difficult as it had been to see Oliver with Sara, seeing him with Laurel was worse. He carried so much guilt whenever he was with her. Initially, Felicity had felt her place on the team was threatened by Sara and that Oliver would decide that he could replace her with Sara. Felicity soon realized that what Oliver and Sara shared was pain. They never had to face what happened to them because they knew the other wasn't going to ask too many painful questions. Neither of them really wanted to know what the other had experienced. Eventually, Sara and Felicity had bonded and shared a genuine friendship before she returned to the League.

Felicity knew that after Tommy's death things were pretty much over between Oliver and Laurel. Felicity didn't have a sister, but she was pretty sure if she did and her boyfriend slept with her sister no amount of time could ever make that right. With Sara gone and Laurel privy to Oliver's secret, there was always a chance they could slip back into old habits. Oliver had carried Laurel's picture for five years. She was the beacon he used to keep fighting for survival. Laurel kept him alive for five years and that might be too much for Oliver to resist. While he was gone, Oliver had convinced himself he was in love with Laurel. Felicity was pretty sure he was convinced he was supposed to still be in love Laurel. Oliver's conflicted feelings about Laurel were another reason she hadn't pushed him about his confession in the mansion. Laurel eyed Felicity warily and barely acknowledged her when they were together. When she spoke to Dig about it, he told her that Laurel was probably jealous that Oliver had shared his true self with her first. He also made a comment about Oliver not having the best track record when it came to other women. Laurel had been burned by Oliver more than once. Felicity couldn't imagine Laurel being jealous of her, especially when it came to Oliver. "Do you think she would want to help me?"

"I think she would and even if she didn't, it wouldn't be in her dad's best interest for your cover to be blown. He would be in trouble too."

Felicity nodded. "I need to find a way back into SCPD's systems. I don't have the ability to get in from the outside. I need to find a way in from the inside. If my name appears anywhere in their records, I'm toast."

"I'm not so worried about their records, I'm worried about the guy who tracked you down for Lance. We can't erase his hard-drive." Oliver said tapping his head. "I don't have the funds to bribe him."

Felicity winced. "Kelton's dead, he died that night, but he had a husband. I don't know if he ever talked about me."

Oliver flinched when Felicity told him Kelton was dead. "I don't have the funds to bribe his widower either."

"We aren't bribing anyone." Felicity said. "Heroes don't bribe."

"If it would keep your name out of the press, I would happily pay him."

"You know that I will never tell anyone who you are. I know I told Barry and you were super mad, but you were dying and I didn't have a choice. But if my name is made public, I will never betray you. I won't trade my freedom for yours."

"Felicity, I'm not worried about me and jail isn't your biggest danger. Every associate of every person I have captured or killed will have a target for their revenge. If they can't get me directly, they will try to come through you. I won't allow that to happen. Making you a target for Slade was a onetime thing. If Vic Sage reveals your connection to the vigilante, I will call a press conference and reveal my identity. You have sacrificed enough for me."

"This was my choice. When I didn't walk a way form you the day you revealed yourself, I knew what I was getting into. The night of the Undertaking, I knew the risk of confirming Lance's suspicions. This secret isn't mine or yours or Diggle's, it's ours. If you respect me, you'll let me keep our secret so you and Dig can continue our work. I won't tell anyone who you are, so you better not either, or I will be seriously pissed with you." Felicity wanted to wipe away the frown on his face. "Angrier than the day you made me your secretary."

"Hey, Executive Assistant." Oliver gave his half smile and put his hands up in surrender. "No, need to go crazy." He teased. His eyes narrowed and he looked into her eyes. "If you've taught me anything, there is always another way. We will find a way to keep our secret, a secret."

"Go ask Laurel to talk to her dad and I'll come up with a plan to get inside SCPD."

Oliver got up and grabbed his bow and quiver and headed towards her bedroom and the fire escape. When he reached her bedroom door, he turned to her. "Felicity? Do you regret that I ever found my way to your office?"

Felicity rose from the sofa and crossed the room. She took his mask from his hand and slid it over his eyes. As she raised his hood she said, "Not even once."


	5. Chapter 5

Felicity felt fairly inspired as she finished testing her virus. She had been up all night writing code after she decided that it was too risky trying to access the SCPD system in person. She was going to blast the department with an email advertising a new hamburger joint. When someone clicked on the link to view the menu, they would download a virus that would give her access to the entire SCPD system. The email was going to bounce across one hundred servers in Europe and Asia before returning to Starling. It would never get back to her. She would be in and out before anyone noticed she was there. If any electronic file existed referencing her, it would be destroyed.

Felicity had just sent her email to the SCPD when Laurel arrived. Oliver interrupted his training of Roy to hear what Laurel had learned from her dad. "I talked to my dad. He says he never discussed Felicity with anyone other than Kelton in IT. Once he started using her as a connection to the Arrow, he didn't want her compromised. He didn't create any records when he brought you in for interrogation, but he doesn't know what Kelton documented. If Kelton did document anything on you, he doubts it is on paper."

"Unless he wanted to make sure I couldn't destroy his evidence. If I were him, I'd have made a back-up and a hard copy and I wouldn't leave them at work." Felicity noticed Oliver was studying her and that Laurel was studying her. "Thanks, Laurel. As acting District Attorney you probably shouldn't listen to anymore of this."

"I just hope it helps. If Vic Sage uncovers your identity, I will have no choice but to issue an arrest warrant and prosecute you as an accessory to murder. Hypothetically, if there are any traces of your computer related crimes at your apartment you might want to start getting rid of it, just in case." Laurel said.

"I'm sure it won't come to that." Oliver said trying to reassure Felicity. He gave Laurel a warning glance, but she ignored him.

"If there is anything at your apartment that can tie you to Oliver in any way, you should get rid of it. It's bad enough the tabloid press keeps linking you together, you don't want there to be any evidence if you're arrested."

Laurel made it sound like she had a stack of his underwear or nude photos lying around her apartment. Felicity was about to ask what Laurel thought she had of Oliver's that could compromise him when she remembered that she had a big something. "Maybe we need to do something about my car." Felicity said to Oliver." He nodded as he realized that his blood was all over the backseat of her car. He had taken her car to his Bratva contacts in the Glades who replaced her backseat, but there could still be traces that a forensic specialist could uncover.

"I can take care of that," said Roy. Cars get stolen and torched all the time in the Glades. The cops are too busy to investigate."

Laurel pursed her lips and tried not to smile. "I guess we can add arson and insurance fraud to your list of charges." Felicity sat heavily in her chair. Laurel squatted down in front of her and took her hand. "I'm sure we're all worrying for nothing. You've gotten this one," indicating Oliver with her chin, "out of trouble more times than you can count. Right? This is a cakewalk."

Felicity smiled. "Easy for you to say. Your new boyfriend isn't trying to destroy your life."

"Speaking of which," Oliver began.

"I know, I know - end it now." Felicity muttered.

"No, I was thinking along the lines of keeping your enemies closer." Oliver said.

"Vic isn't my enemy." Felicity said.

"Felicity, you have to think of him that way until we know he is no longer a threat."

"So you want me sleeping with the enemy.. . so to speak?" Felicity asked, enjoying that Oliver seemed uncomfortable with the suggestion.

"I was thinking more along the lines of another dinner to find out more about his source."

"You think he'll tell me who his source is?"

"I was thinking you could do a little flirty-flirt and put some tech on his phone."

Felicity smiled. "Flirty-flirt is your specialty, not mine."

"Somehow, I think it will be more effective coming from you."

"I hate to admit it, but it's a good idea." Felicity said trying to look disappointed.

"In fairness, someone a lot smarter than me came up with it first." Oliver grinned.

"What's the rule on calling a guy after the first date?" Felicity asked Laurel.

"Fe-lic-ity." Oliver over articulated.

"What? I don't want to come off desperate. If it were you, you'd be changing your phone number if a girl called you after a first date."

Before Oliver could respond, Laurel quipped. "He never gave out his real number."

"Hey." Oliver said as the two women started laughing. "I'm not like that anymore."

"Says the man the tabloid press says is, Sexing His Secretary." Felicity teased.

"Come on Roy, let's get back to it." Oliver said huffing away towards the mat.

"He doesn't like to lose, does he?" Roy asked Felicity.

Laurel wandered over to the mat to watch Oliver and Roy. Since Sara left, she'd been doing some training with Oliver. Felicity was trying not be bothered by that since Oliver refused to train her. He was fine with John flipping her face down onto the mat, but Oliver said he was afraid he'd hurt her. Felicity didn't think she was any more fragile than Laurel, but Oliver didn't seem to share her opinion.

Her pity party for one was interrupted by her computer alerting her to a bite on her line. A cop had taken her bait and introduced the virus into the SCPD system. "Never come between a cop and a greasy meal," she said to no one in particular. Felicity's fingers flew across the keyboard as she began to search for her name or any references to the Arrow. As she allowed the code to start fishing, she began a more surgical strike against Kelton's files. He was good, not as good as her, but he had put traps around his files that were programmed to send out an alert whenever it detected an intrusion. She had to look without touching. If he had something on her, she would need to destroy it without anyone in the SCPD IT department being able to tie it back to her. If he had something, she had to find every copy he made, otherwise all of their efforts would be for nothing. Kelton had been trying to break into Merlyn's systems when he found her footprints. She needed to find his hack of her hack.

Her code brought up her results. Lance had been right, there wasn't any electronic reference to her name. However, references to the Arrow were everywhere. If she destroyed all his files, someone might notice. She needed to find anything and everything that had physical evidence that could link back to Oliver. Every blood sample had been successfully destroyed. He never left a fingerprint. She often wished there was a way to police his arrows, like you could shell casings. She hated how many of his arrows were in evidence storage. She was paranoid every time he touched an arrow without gloves, even for practice. She was forever nagging him to wipe down his arrows.

There were several dozen photographs of shoeprints on file. She stood up and walked to the case where Oliver's suit was stored and retrieved his boots. She examined the soles and compared them to the photographs on screen. Three of them appeared to match. She then thought of Dig and grabbed the shoes he had at the lair. None of them matched the photographs, but Dig didn't always wear the same shoes. Felicity couldn't decide if she should institute a new shoe policy. Shoes worn on Arrow business could only leave the lair on Arrow business. This way one of them couldn't get picked up on something else and be linked to the Arrow. She decided that several of the prints looked like they matched Dig's shoe size, so she deleted them. She deleted all the photos that appeared to be of a woman's shoe. Sara might be gone from Starling, but Felicity was going to protect her if she could. None of the photographs corresponded to a date after Roy joined the team so she didn't ask him to surrender his shoes.

Oliver raised a questioning eyebrow when she put the footwear back. She shrugged and returned to her monitor. She destroyed some files on analysis of fiber and materials and altered others. She destroyed every photo of motorcycle treads. She and Oliver were going to need to talk about his bike. Oliver Queen could not ride the same bike as the Arrow. That conversation wasn't going to go well.

Satisfied that she had gotten everything she needed to from the SCPD system, she returned her focus to Kelton. He wasn't going to be so easy. Felicity could feel time slipping away from her as she tried to think of a way to cleanly search Kelton's files. She had been in the SCPD system longer than she planned and didn't want to risk detection. She exited out of SCPD and instructed her virus to self destruct.

A chair rolled up beside her and Diggle gave her a sympathetic smile. "That doesn't look like a happy face."

"Dig," Felicity looked at the time on her computer, "it's early. Why aren't you at work?"

"My new boss has decided to spend the day at home with his new and very young wife." Felicity wrinkled her nose and Diggle smile. "It's the easiest job I've ever had. Of course, working with Oliver has me grading on a curve." Diggle bumped his shoulder into Felicity. "So, tell me why you're frowning."

"Oliver told you." Felicity didn't ask, she could see it on Dig's face. "Is there nothing secret?"

"Between the three of us?" Diggle laughed. "Even if it were possible, there should never be secrets between us. So, how was the date?" He asked bumping his shoulder into hers again.

"It was fine." Felicity looked at her monitor and could feel herself blushing. She turned back to Diggle. "It was nice. He is nice, smart, funny and uncomplicated. I mean it's complicated because he is trying to figure out who the Arrow is, but it's not complicated." Felicity's eyes moved to where Oliver stood with Laurel. "Do you know what I mean?"

Dig patted Felicity's hand. "I do."

There wasn't a day she wasn't grateful that John Diggle was part of her life. Forget that she'd never be able to handle Oliver and the Arrow on her own, but he'd become a true friend and confident. Oliver sometimes forgot the toll their lifestyle took, Dig never did. He always made sure she ate and more than once she had looked out her apartment window to see him sitting in his car watching for threats. She would always text him to say, thank you, and to tell him she was going to bed and he should go home. There was nothing quite so comforting as knowing John Diggle had your back. No wonder Oliver revealed himself to Dig. "Are you free for a little b&e this evening?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

Kelton had shared a row home with his husband, Dave, in the same neighborhood as Felicity. He had an alarm that Felicity was able to easily deactivate from her phone. _Really, he should've known better. _She and Diggle, trying to appear like invited houseguests, stood on the front porch with a bottle of wine and rang the doorbell. Dave wasn't at home, he was sitting with a SCPD union rep in a diner across town. Roy was sitting in a booth across from them watching so he could alert the team when Dave left. After Roy was done watching Dave, he was going to torch her Mini. Felicity was doing her best trying not to think about that. She loved that car. The front door opened and they were admitted by the Arrow.

Felicity was overcome with sadness as she took in Kelton's home. There were pictures of him and Dave everywhere. She picked up a framed photo that was clearly from their wedding. "They look so happy." Oliver took the frame from her and looked at the picture. "It's not fair," she whispered fighting back tears. He returned the frame to the table and gently squeezed her shoulder.

She took a deep breath. "I need to find his computer," Felicity said as she moved through the downstairs. "It must be upstairs." Oliver insisted on going upstairs first and Felicity tried to hide her annoyance. They weren't in the lair of some dastardly villain, it was just the house of a guy who did his job well. Ever since she had thrown her lot in with Oliver and Dig she had decided she could live in the gray area of what is right and what is wrong when dealing with criminals. She was breaking into the home of a man who had done nothing wrong except to catch her in a crime. Felicity knew they had to destroy the evidence Kelton had, but she didn't have to feel good about it.

"Felicity, it's up here." Oliver called down.

Felicity and John found Oliver in a small office at the back of the house. Oliver drew the shades as Felicity turned on the lights. She prayed the SCPD hadn't gotten around to removing his system access. "I'm going to access his work computer remotely. I need you guys to look around for anything that looks like it might relate to us." It was much easier to access the SCPD system from Kelton's home VPN connection. It took her less than a minute to get through his password and she was into his files. It was worse than she feared. He'd identified several of her hacks and was building a pretty solid case against her. She didn't need to worry about going to jail for Oliver, if Kelton turned over what he had to the feds, she'd be going to federal prison for multiple life terms. Felicity began to delete his work files and turned her attention to his home computer. "Please no porn. Please no porn." She whispered under her breath as she began to go through his directory. She suddenly noticed that both Oliver and Dig had gone still and were staring at her. "What? You guys probably wouldn't want me looking at your directories either." Oliver and Dig returned to looking through drawers and Felicity couldn't help noticing that she had rendered them speechless. "I see I'm going to have to give you boys a program to destroy all your web histories."

Felicity had been right. Kelton had downloaded all his work files on her to his home computer. He was even trying to recreate some of her code. Kelton was studying her. "Damn it." Felicity said loudly.

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"It's fine. Kelton was just a lot more dangerous than I gave him credit for. He could've sent me to jail ten times over by now. I was screwed and didn't even know it." Felicity began to delete files. "I'm going to have to be really sucky and destroy his system. Looks like Tockman's little trick with my system will come in handy."

"Silver linings." Dig said. "I haven't found anything."

"I found this over the door." Oliver said as he handed her a thumb drive. Felicity took the drive and opened it. "I sure hope he doesn't have more of these laying around," she said as she put it in her pocket.

"Digg and I will sweep the rest of the house. Are you good here?" Oliver asked.

"All set," Felicity said as she uploaded Tockman's virus from her own thumb drive. "I just hope we don't burn down his house when I fry everything." Felicity removed an unused thumb drive from her coat pocket and downloaded all of the photographs and videos from the hard drive. She needed to destroy this system but she wasn't going to destroy what little Dave had left of his husband. Once the download was complete she executed Tockman's program.

An hour later they were back in the lair. Felicity was in front of her monitors downloading Kelton's files onto the one computer not connected to the internet. Oliver, dressed as himself, sat on the edge of her desk. "What are you doing?"

"I need to understand all the ways I screwed up and allowed him to identify me. I can't let this happen again. I need to know how the next Kelton is going to come at me."

"Sounds like you could use a drink." Felicity eyed Oliver warily. He sighed and handed her her phone. "You were supposed to have called Vic and arranged a second date."

"I'm not dressed for drinks. I'm dressed for b&e." Felicity said defiantly.

"Felicity, you have more clothing and shoes here than I do, and I live here." Oliver squeezed her shoulder. "Call Vic and make with the flirty-flirt. We need to know what he knows."

Felicity called Vic and prayed for voicemail. Unfortunately, he picked up on the second ring and was more than happy to meet for a drink at a bar not too far from her house. Thirty minutes later she was trudging up the lair stairs. It had been awhile since she'd been dating but she was pretty sure that meeting for a drink meant the guy expected sex afterwards. How did she let Oliver talk her into these things?

As she reached the top of the stairs Dig called out, "Have fun."

"Hey, man." Felicity heard Oliver whisper to Dig. Raising his voice, "Not too much fun. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

Felicity heard Dig speak lowly to Oliver as the door closed behind her, "Man, I sure hope you know what you're doing."

That made two of them.


	7. Chapter 7

"May I get you anything else? Last call." The waitress asked.

"Wow, is it that late already?" Felicity asked Vic.

"I'm glad to hear I didn't bore you to tears." Vic said, his hand casually brushing against hers as he reached for his drink.

"Hardly. Who knew there was so much crime in Starling?" Felicity asked, wide-eyed, hoping she sounded more sincere than she felt. Vic was far more aware of what was going on in the city than she suspected. Oliver's work as the Arrow was often front page news, but quite a lot of what they did was credited to the SCPD. Vic knew of several instances of the SCPD taking credit for the Arrow's work. "I can't believe the Arrow and the cops are working together. It makes him seem more like a police consultant than a criminal." Felicity said leaning into Vic.

"Don't tell me you have a crush on him too." Vic teased.

"Could you blame me? He saved my life." Felicity said coyly. She would admit to a harmless crush on the Arrow, but she wasn't going to confirm his other accusation. "I'm still not talking about Oliver Queen."

"Who cares about Queen? I just found out I have real competition from the vigilante. I'm curious, what did he say to you?" Vic cleared his throat and said with a dramatic voice. "Don't worry miss, I'm here to rescue you."

Felicity laughed trying to imagine Oliver saying anything like that. "He was a lot more focused on the Count than he was on me." A chill ran down her spine as she remembered the Count playing with her pony tail as Oliver walked into his office.

Vic clasped her hand. "Are you okay? That was stupid of me."

Felicity squeezed his fingers and removed her hand. "It was really scary and I don't like talking about it."

"Let's talk about something else. I have a charity event to attend on Friday. I'd love it if you'd join me." Felicity hesitated. "I've been told I look good in a tux."

Felicity smiled. "I'll be the judge of that."

"Excellent," Vic said, offering his hand to Felicity as he stood up. "I'm glad we have that settled." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a hundred dollar bill and left it on their table. "I'll walk you to your car." Noticing she was about to object, he laced his fingers through hers. "I promise, the paparazzi aren't stalking us tonight. Bruce Wayne is in town."

It was a warm evening and Felicity felt content as she walked down the street with her fingers entwined with Vic's. She had been reticent to pursue anything with him, but she actually enjoyed his company. She felt like a normal girl on a normal date. When they got to her car, he leaned over and kissed her. His lips were soft and warm and Felicity surprised herself by sighing. Vic circled his arms around her waist and Felicity responded by lifting her arms and placing them on his shoulders. She was faintly aware that her cell phone was buzzing but the feel of Vic's hands pressing against the small of her back was all she could think about. As Vic pressed her against her car, their kiss deepening her phone began to vibrate again.

"I think someone really needs to speak to you." Vic said, his forehead now resting on hers.

Felicity sighed and pulled her phone from her purse. It was Oliver. She held the phone up for Vic to see the caller ID. Felicity had reprogrammed her phone and Oliver was given the identity of her "best girlfriend", Joan. "It's my friend Joan. I told her I had a date tonight. I'm sure she's just looking for an update." Vic moved in to kiss her again and her phone buzzed again. Felicity groaned.

"I'm starting to dislike Joan." Vic said as he pulled away.

"Yeah, she's not on the top of my list either." Felicity eyed the roof tops behind Vic. She was pretty sure Oliver was somewhere nearby watching them. "I should go, I have an early start."

Vic opened her car door and held it while she got in. "I will see you on Friday, be safe." He closed her door and stepped away from her car as she pulled away from the curb.

Felicity waved to Vic and then put Oliver on speakerphone. "Where are you?"

There was a pause and she could hear Oliver thinking. "I'm at the lair?" He said with hesitation, his voice synthesizer making his lie sound even more ridiculous.

"Turn that thing off." Felicity said with exasperation. "Even your timing isn't that good. I know you're here. I can't believe you were spying on me."

"I wasn't spying. I wanted to make sure you made it home okay."

"Do you need a ride?" Felicity asked.

"I've got my bike. How'd it go? Did you get the tracker onto his phone." Oliver asked.

Felicity silently cursed. She'd forgotten about the tracker.

"Fe-lic-ity?" Oliver asked drawing out her name.

"No, his phone was in his pocket the whole night and if someone hadn't kept interrupting, I might have been able to get my hands on it...his phone." Felicity could hear Oliver go hmmph into the speaker. "I'm sorry. Do you have something to say?"

"Goodnight." Oliver said tightly. "Text me so I know you're home safe."


	8. Chapter 8

**Note: Thank you to everyone who has left me a review, followed my story and/or made my story a favorite. Your response has been overwhelming. I hope you continue to enjoy.**

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It had been rather uneventful since Felicity had met Vic for drinks. Since things had been so quiet, Oliver decided everyone should take Friday night off. Felicity had spent her morning in the lair, trying to be quiet while Oliver slept. She was worried about him. He was sleeping the sleep of exhaustion, which meant he'd been working out into the wee hours of the morning. She needed to speak with Dig. Felicity didn't know what was bothering Oliver, but something was. Not that he didn't have a laundry list of worries; his mom's death; his finances; Queen Consolidated; Thea; Laurel; Roy - it could be any and all keeping him up at night pounding on his training dummies. He was still sleeping when she left, so she left him two notes. The first note told him that she'd left him some hard boiled eggs and the ingredients for his foul green power smoothies in the fridge. The second note told him in no uncertain terms was he to suit up that evening without calling in the rest of the team.

Felicity celebrated her impending paycheck, by spending the rest of her day getting a mani-pedi, a massage and her hair styled. When Vic arrived at her apartment at 7:30, she was almost ready. "I just need to get my shoes and I'd love some help with the clasp on this necklace. I don't want to ruin my manicure."

Vic smiled, took the necklace from her and put it around her neck. His fingers were warm and gentle and she could feel the small hairs on the back of her neck stand up. He kissed her where her shoulder and neck met and Felicity shuddered with pleasure. It had been a long time since anyone had touched her that intimately. "We better hurry, or we'll be late." She managed to stammer out.

Vic squeezed her shoulders and whispered into her ear. "You're going to be the most beautiful woman in the room."

The gala was in full swing when they arrived. All of Starling's one percent seemed to be out in support for the Starling City Children's Hospital. The perimeter of the ballroom was lined with items for the silent auction. Vic excused himself in order to acquire champagne for them. Felicity was examining the items up for bid. She was intently reading about a private Caribbean island when someone stepped up behind her and said. "Miss, I'm going to need to examine the contents of your purse."

Felicity giggled and turned to face her friend. "John," she said as she reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"

Diggle indicated the elderly man sitting at a table with a very young and attractive woman. "He decided to come out at the last minute. He's worried that the Arrow is going to come for him. He should be more worried about his new wife killing him."

Felicity laughed. "He might be the only one percenter not on the list."

"Don't tell him that. I think he's actually hurt that the Arrow hasn't targeted him. Now, Miss Smoak, you are looking mighty fine tonight. Where is the fool who would leave you all alone?" John teased.

"I'm right here." Vic said handing Felicity a glass of champagne. He extended his hand towards Diggle.

"Vic Sage, John Diggle. John worked security at Queen Consolidated." Felicity said as a way of introduction. "It was good seeing you again, John." Felicity said warmly. It saddened her that their covers required them to pretend that they weren't friends, let alone that he was one of the most important people in her life.

"Always a pleasure, Felicity. You enjoy your evenings." Dig walked over to stand closer to his employer's table.

Felicity turned her attention back to the auction table and took a sip of her champagne. "Does anything strike your fancy?" Vic asked, looking over her shoulder.

"All of it strikes my fancy, unfortunately, I don't think my IT salary will have me outbidding the folks in this room."

"A private island is so 2007. I'd much prefer a cabin by a lake." Vic said.

"Me too, as long as said cabin has indoor plumbing."

"Do I look like an animal to you?" He asked teasingly.

Felicity smiled. "No, you look pretty dashing in your tux."

"I promise to take it to the cabin when we go." Vic drained his glass. "Come on Smoak, bottoms-up. A dress like yours is made for dancing."

Felicity finished her champagne just as they reached the dance floor. "I'm not a very good dancer." Vic took the glass from her and set it on the nearest table.

"All you have to do is follow my lead." He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. A band was playing classic dance tunes from the forties and fifties. Vic spun Felicity once and pulled her into his arms and they began to glide across the dance floor.

Felicity felt as if she were floating in Vic's arms. He was a wonderful dancer and he made her feel elegant. They had been dancing for a half hour, when someone tapped Vic on the shoulder. "Excuse me for interrupting, but I had to say hello to Felicity." Oliver said with his most winning playboy smile. "Oliver Queen. And you're Vic Sage. I'm a big fan of your reporting." Oliver extended his arm. "Do you know Laurel Lance." Vic extended his hand to Laurel and then to Oliver. Oliver shook his hand and squeezed his arm as he pumped Vic's arm vigorously. Oliver turned his attention to Felicity and kissed her on the cheek. "You don't mind if I ask Miss Smoak to dance?" Oliver didn't wait for Vic to respond before he had caught Felicity up in his arms and began to dance her across the ballroom. Felicity watched as Vic offered his arm to Laurel and they began to dance.

"Oliver, what are you doing here?" Felicity asked.

"I love your dress. It's nice of you to wear our team's color." Oliver said smiling at her.

Felicity looked down and realized that her dress was a deep emerald green. She hadn't thought about the color before. She had liked the long one-sleeved floor length dress because it covered the scar from her bullet wound and had a sexy slit up one leg. Great, was she subconsciously dressing like Oliver now? "Oliver, what are you doing here?" Felicity said narrowing her eyes.

"I thought I could help with your flirty-flirt." He said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a cell phone.

"Is that Vic's phone? I can't believe you picked his pocket." Felicity said taking the phone from Oliver.

"Don't stop dancing, Felicity." Oliver held her a little tighter and danced them to the edge of the dance floor near a door out to the lobby. "I'm thirsty, are you thirsty?" He took her hand and led her to a comfy chair. "Why don't you check your messages while I get us something to drink."

Felicity wanted to shake Oliver, but he had successfully liberated Vic's phone for her. She hooked Vic's phone up to her own and began to download some tracking software. She was putting her phone away when Oliver approached with two glasses of champagne. Felicity traded Oliver a glass of champagne for Vic's phone. She downed her glass and reached for Oliver's as he was taking his first sip. "Hey."

She took his glass and downed it too. "Oh, please. It's not like you were going to actually drink it."

Oliver's playboy persona cracked for a second as he leaned into her and whispered harshly, "Easy, Felicity. That's three glasses you've had tonight."

"I thought you wanted to dance." Felicity said smoothing her dress. Oliver crooked his arm and led Felicity back into the ballroom. He effortlessly rejoined the other dancers. He pulled her close and rested his cheek against the top of her head. Felicity couldn't help but giggle as he began to hum the song the band was playing into her ear. He was trying to intentionally annoy her, but she was choosing to enjoy his playfulness. She could feel him smiling. Felicity closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and relaxed as Oliver filled her senses. His hand on the small of her back was warm and his thumb was gently stroking her. She found that her hand that had been on his shoulder was now on the back of his neck.

"You really do look beautiful tonight. Vic is a lucky man." Oliver whispered into her ear.

"Laurel looks beautiful tonight too. Are you on a date?" Felicity asked and Oliver pulled his head up to look into her eyes.

"She needed someone to bring her tonight and I thought you wouldn't mind the support." Oliver said.

"Thank you for the help. I do appreciate it." Felicity moved closer into Oliver.

"That's what partners are for." He put his cheek back onto hers. "Now, be quiet so I can enjoy our dance."

By the time the song ended, Oliver had traversed his way back across the dance floor. When Oliver returned Felicity to Vic, he had put some distance between them and the playboy had returned. "Thanks for lending her to me." Oliver said, shaking Vic's hand. Felicity had to hide a smile as she watched Oliver return Vic's phone to his breast pocket. "Enjoy the rest of your evening." Oliver said as he led Laurel away.

Felicity and Vic resumed dancing but she could still feel Oliver's hand on her back and hear him humming in her ear.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note: Thank you for continuing to ready my story. I appreciate all the kind reviews and how many of you are subscribing to this story. This is a short chapter, so I've decided to give you Chapter 10 today too. Please enjoy.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

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Felicity took a sip of her iced tea and smiled as she observed how relaxed her guys looked. Oliver and Dig had showed up to take her to lunch on the first day of her new job. They were sitting on a patio of a small cafe just off campus. The table's umbrella was providing the perfect amount of shade and the breeze from the harbor was keeping the temperature comfortable. Oliver was leaning back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him, eyes closed and his face angled to get direct sun. Dig was lost in thought, staring at the water, a small smile playing across his mouth.

"Felicity, I can feel you smiling." Oliver teased.

"I was just thinking we never really go out in daylight together anymore and no one is trying to kill us at the moment, which is, all in all, a nice change of pace."

"I forgot what it was like to have a client not getting abducted every ten minutes." Dig deadpanned.

Oliver lifted his head and gave Diggle a pointed look. Just then his phone buzzed. He stared at his phone, brow furrowed, until a smile crept onto his face. Oliver began to read. "A source close to Smoak says Queen is in love with Laurel Lance." Laughing he turned to Dig. "Anything you want to tell me Diggle?" He passed the phone to Felicity's outstretched hand.

"It wasn't me. I don't talk to the press - it's in my contract." Dig said taking a drink of water.

Felicity quickly scanned through the tabloid article. It was questioning who Oliver was really dating, Laurel or Felicity, and if he was two timing one with the other. There were two pictures of Oliver dancing the night of the charity gala. In one picture he held Felicity close, their gaze intense. The second picture was of Oliver and Laurel, both looking distractedly in opposite directions. The article speculated that Oliver was really slumming it with Felicity and trying to cover it up with Laurel. "I'm going to kill her." Felicity muttered.

Oliver leaned across the table. "You told a _friend_, I'm in love with Laurel?' He asked incredulously.

"Don't say it like it is impossible for me to have a friend. I have friends other than you two." Felicity huffed. "But no, I didn't say it to a friend, I said it to my mom."

Both Oliver and Dig's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Your mom told the tabloids?" Dig asked.

"You told your mom I'm in love with Laurel?" Oliver lowered his sunglasses.

Felicity could feel heat rising in her face. "I'm sorry. I can't believe how stupid I am. She called me yesterday morning - super early- she was leaving her shift from the casino. She'd seen pictures of us from the gala and wanted to know if we were together. She was just looking for money and I didn't want to get into a whole big fight about it, so I told her the papers had it all wrong, you're just my former boss, nothing more, besides you're in love with Laurel." Felicity watched Oliver's jaw flex. "I'm so sorry, Oliver. I should've known better, but I never thought she'd talk to the tabloids."

"Do you need money, Felicity?" Diggle asked.

"No. What?" Felicity asked not quite hearing Diggle because she was waiting for Oliver's reaction.

"You said your mom needed money. I know things have been tight for you. If you need money, " Dig said with concern.

"No, John, thank you. I'm okay." Felicity squeezed his hand.

"Your mom must need the money." Oliver said. "She sold this to the paper."

Felicity groaned. "My mom is a cocktail waitress in Vegas. You don't need much imagination to figure out what she needs the money for." She closed her eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Felicity?" Oliver asked gently. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said forcing a bright smile. Felicity stood up. "Thanks for lunch. I better get back - first day and all."

As she passed by Oliver, he grabbed her hand, holding her in place. "Hey, don't worry about this,' indicating his phone with his head. "It's nothing."

Felicity shook her head. "Yeah, but you say the same thing about bullet holes." Oliver gave her hand a squeeze and she walked away. Her peaceful lunch being replaced with murderous thoughts about her mother.


	10. Chapter 10

**Note: As promised, I am posting a second chapter today. I hope you enjoy. I look forward to hearing from you.**

Felicity's first day at her new job had been satisfying, if uneventful. Other than seeing Dr. Hamilton when she first arrived, she'd had no interaction with her new employer. She had her own office in the basement of the building where Dr. Hamilton had his lab. She seemed to be destined to spend her life in basements.

"Mom, it's me. I guess you're not calling me back - so, thanks for that. I can't believe I'm about to say this to you in a voicemail, but you're leaving me with no choice. If you ever discuss me or Oliver Queen with a reporter again, we're done. No more phone calls. No more visits. No more money. Mom, how could you?" Felicity put her phone away and punched the code for the lair's entrance. She'd been dreading facing Oliver all day.

"How was the rest of your first day?" Dig asked, looking up from his desk.

"It was good," Felicity offered. "It's not the most challenging stuff. I didn't need to break any federal laws, but there's a lot to do, so, job security - which is good." Felicity looked around the lair. "So, where are Oliver and Roy?

"Roy's not coming. He heard from somebody who heard from somebody that Thea was at a club in Central City - so, he went to check it out."

Felicity pursed her lips. "Hmmm, I'm pretty sure if she was at a club this weekend my WebCrawler would've found it. I'll check my parameters again." She sat down at her desk to check on her search results. "Did Oliver go with Roy?"

Diggle moved from his desk to lean against hers, arms folded across his chest. "He's out to dinner with Laurel. On a date."

Felicity stopped typing. "A date, date or I'm hungry, you're hungry, date?"

Dig sighed. "I think he is trying to do damage control."

"Damage control?" Felicity scoffed.

"He feels responsible for you being subjected to the press. He tipped off the paparazzi that he and Laurel were going to be out together tonight."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "He doesn't mind getting Laurel in the papers?"

"I don't think Laurel minds being in the papers." Dig grinned.

"Meow." Felicity made clawing marks in the air. Dig was never going to be Laurel's biggest fan.

Dig laughed. "No, I mean she's acting D.A. If she decides to run for office, the free press can't hurt."

"I don't know if Oliver Queen is the man to be seen with in public if you're trying to run for office." Felicity joked. "Of course, he doesn't pee on cops anymore, so that's a plus."

"He just runs from them now." Dig took a deep breath. "So, Felicity. Can we talk about your mom?"

"There's nothing to talk about. My mom is my mom. I've had my whole life to learn she's not the bake you cookies kind of mom."

"What kind of mom is she?" Dig asked turning her chair to face him.

"The kind who tries to get her daughter's alleged billionaire boyfriend to fork over some money."

"What does she need the money for?"

Felicity shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know what it is this time. Bookies, booze, pills, all three."

"Must've been tough growing up like that."

"Not really. I didn't know any different. I thought all moms were the same. It wasn't until I got older that I realized it wasn't normal." An alert went off on her monitor. "It's Vic, he's calling someone." Felicity rested her head on her hands. "I feel really awful about spying on him."

"You'll feel worse in jail."

"I don't know." She really wasn't sure. The more time she spent with Vic the more she liked him and the guiltier she felt. She was building a relationship on a lie. There was no way this was going to end well.

"Who's he calling?"

"Maybe a source?" Felicity didn't recognize the name and started running it through her databases. "James Murphy, he works at the courthouse."

Turning her attention back to Dig. "How's Lyla?"

"Good." Dig smiled. He opened his wallet and handed Felicity a picture of an ultrasound.

Felicity squealed in delight. "The baby looks just like you."

He laughed. "Felicity, the baby doesn't look like anything."

"Definitely your chin." She held the picture alongside his face. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, I couldn't tell." Dig gently tugged on the end of her pony tail.

"Am I going to get to throw you a bachelor party before a baby shower?"

"You want to throw me a bachelor party? A look of horror on his face.

"Do you really want Oliver to plan it?"

"I don't think I could keep up with Oliver."

"I'd be less worried about former billionaire playboy Ollie's bachelor party than shipwreck survivor Oliver's idea of a bachelor party."

"I won't worry about either. Lyla and I have done the marriage thing once - it didn't work out."

"Yeah, but John, it's different now, right? You love her."

"Felicity, love isn't our problem. I never stopped loving Lyla. It's the living together part we struggle with."

"But, you love her and the baby." Felicity knew she sounded naive but this was Diggle, the absolute best man she knew. If he couldn't figure it out, what chance did any of them have?

"I know you know that even when two people are in love, life sometimes gets in the way. Love isn't always enough." She knew he was referring to Oliver and what happened between them in the mansion. Diggle had been furious with Oliver for using her as bait. Dig told her he wasn't angry that Oliver had placed her in Slade's clutches but that he had taken advantage of her feelings for him. Felicity told Dig that it didn't happen that way, but she couldn't explain to him what had transpired between her and Oliver any better than she could explain it to herself.

"It should be." Her own father left before she was four. She really only remembered the pain of him leaving. She felt protective of Dig's baby and only wanted him or her to remember being loved.

"There are a lot of things in this world that should be that just aren't."

"So, a date, huh?" Felicity said turning back to her screen.

"Yep." Diggle said returning to his desk.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note: Thank you for your comments and all the story favorites I received after my last posting. Your responses have been overwhelming. The next three chapters are on the shorter side, but the last six will more than make up for it.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

A month had passed since Felicity started her new job with Dr. Hamilton. She enjoyed working for him. He was brilliant and his research was interesting. He was a kind boss, if a bit quirky. They got along extremely well. Her hours were regular and the days flew by as she furiously wrote code.

Detective Lance had been back in touch. The Triad was back in town and keeping Oliver, Dig and Roy busy. Much to her surprise, Oliver had contacted Walter for help with Queen Consolidated. Two evenings a week, Felicity and Oliver went to Walter's to strategize and to turn Oliver into CEO material. It was slow going, but for the first time Felicity believed that returning QC to Oliver was a real possibility.

Things seemed to be going great for Team Arrow, which is why Felicity was surprised when someone completely unexpected was waiting for her when she left her office. "Hello, Ms. Smoak. Do you remember me? I'm Dave Kelton, we met at my husband Simon's funeral.

"I remember." Felicity said trying to remain calm.

"I'm moving out of town and I wanted to give you something. I'm pretty sure you were looking for this." Dave handed her a large manila envelope. "Simon never would've turned you in. He just enjoyed the chase. He was very fond of you. He would want me to tell you that you really need to be more careful to stay off the radar." He smiled and walked away.

"Thank you." Felicity stammered, clutching the envelope to her chest.

When Felicity walked into the lair forty-five minutes later, Oliver and Diggle were sparring. She called out a greeting that was barely acknowledged with two grunts. She sat down and dumped the contents of the envelope onto her desk. Three thumb drives and a ream of paper slid out. The pages were covered with code and a detailed roadmap of how Simon had identified her.

Oliver reached over her shoulder and picked up a page. "Paper? I never thought I'd see this on your desk."

"It's a gift from Simon Kelton." Felicity said, her focus still on what Kelton had collected on her.

"I guess we can all breathe a lot easier." Dig said as he examined some of the papers on her desk.

"Are we still in the crime fighting business?" Felicity asked trying to distract herself from how close she'd come to blowing her own cover and possibly Oliver and Dig's. "According to Detective Lance, the Triad is expecting a shipment of opium down at the docks tonight."

As Oliver grabbed his suit off the mannequin, Laurel entered the lair. She walked up to Oliver and kissed him on the cheek. For the past month Oliver and Laurel had been making public appearances as a couple, but weren't quite dating. Or, at least, Oliver refused to confirm that they were dating. He insisted that they were only friends and were helping each other out. Felicity hoped that _helping each other out_ wasn't a euphemism for something else. Not that Oliver couldn't be with someone, after all, she was with someone, but Laurel was just a bad idea. "I had lunch with one Mr. Vic Sage, today." Laurel said turning to Felicity. "He was interviewing me about the Office of the D.A.'s position on the Arrow?"

"What is the D.A.'s position?" Oliver asked mischievously.

"The D.A. thinks the Arrow wears leather pants extremely well." Laurel grinned as she patted Oliver's chest.

It was all Felicity could do not to gag, but she couldn't resist shooting a glance at Dig -who caught her eye and then they rolled their eyes in unison. Oliver did wear his leather pants well but it wasn't something that anyone needed to acknowledge out loud. All admiration of Oliver's attributes were done silently and with blatant stares.

"Vic proposed a double date for the four of us this Saturday night. What do you think?" She asked Oliver. "I think it sounds like fun, but I said I'd ask you first."

Felicity could hear Oliver's thoughts in her own head, because she was thinking the same thing. _I'd rather take a bullet in the shoulder. _Instead, he asked Felicity. "Sounds like fun, you in?"

"Why don't we make it a triple date?" Felicity asked Diggle who was looking like he was enjoying her predicament too much.

"Sorry, doesn't work with our cover." Diggle said smugly as he walked away.

For the first time in her life, Felicity had an unkind thought about John Diggle. "Sure," she said brightly. "I'll just act surprised when Vic asks me."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes: You were all so kind, I'm giving you a second chapter today. Thank you for your comments and for making the story a favorite.**

**I promise, this is ultimately an Olicity story. Everything is not quite what it seems to be between Oliver and Laurel. He is doing what he always does, protecting Felicity. He just doesn't go about it in the most healthy way.**

Other than the fact that Felicity was spying on Vic's every phone call, she thought things were going really well between them. She was surprised by how much she enjoyed spending time with him. They had established a routine, of sorts. One date during the week, Friday nights and Sunday brunch. Her work at SCU didn't provide the best covers for late nights at the office. At least when she worked for Oliver at QC it was believable that she worked eighteen hour days. Saturday nights were way too busy for both Oliver and Vic, since criminals never seemed to take the weekends off. Felicity was grateful she didn't have to come up with an excuse for why she wasn't available for her boyfriend on Saturday evenings, he was the one always apologizing for being busy. They had gone on a few daytime Saturday excursions together. Her favorite was a Saturday they spent sailing around the bay. Oliver had been a bear from the moment she told him about their plans until she was safely back in the lair that Saturday night. Diggle had told her that he agreed that honesty was always the best policy with Oliver, except for maybe with boats.

Vic was still actively seeking the identity of the Arrow and his associate but her spying revealed that his source inside the SCPD had been stringing him along. He was no closer to identifying her secret now than he was when they first started dating. He was, however, more aggressive in searching for the Arrow in the field. He listened to the police scanner whenever he wasn't with Felicity. Both Oliver and Diggle had seen Vic around several crime scenes. Luckily, he had not seen either of them. Even though Vic didn't seem to suspect that Felicity was the Arrow's partner, he didn't completely trust her. Vic was jealous, of both Oliver Queen and the Arrow. She never shared this information with Oliver but she had with Dig. Her friend cautioned her that jealous boyfriends were dangerous boyfriends, but Felicity felt like Vic was entitled to be suspicious since she was keeping secrets. Dig told her that whether or not Vic had a reason to be suspicious, Felicity needed to be careful. She didn't want Vic turning his investigative journalism skills on his girlfriend only to discover that she wasn't cheating on him but aiding and abetting the Arrow.

Felicity couldn't help but feel that Vic was trying to test her with their double date. Vic had been asking to meet her friend _Joan. _Vic believed she must mean a great deal to Felicity due to the number of phone calls they exchanged. Felicity was worried that Vic was beginning to believe that Joan was Oliver. She had asked Oliver to be more judicious with his calls when she was out with Vic, however, she suspected that he was calling more frequently in order to cause trouble. She didn't think it was jealousy in the truest form, it was more that Oliver didn't like sharing her with anyone, her new boss included. Felicity had planned on Joan moving out of town for a new job, but she was starting to think maybe Joan needed to have an unfortunate accident.

When Vic opened the door to the restaurant, Felicity took a deep breath and smoothed her dress. She had been careful not to wear anything green. She was in a short cream lace dress and her hair was down in soft curls. "You look beautiful." Vic said placing a kiss on her cheek. "Are you okay? You seem a little nervous."

"I just don't know what I have in common with Oliver and Laurel. What are we going to talk about all night?" Felicity asked with genuine concern.

"What did you and Oliver used to talk about?"

"Work." Which is something they could most definitely not discuss this evening.

"I've never known you to be at a loss for words. I'm sure you'll think of something."

Before she could respond, Oliver and Laurel arrived. Greetings and pleasantries were exchanged and the maitre de showed them to a table for four. Oliver was seated on her right, Vic on her left. The maitre de spoke as he handed out the menus. "Mr. Queen, per your request, all nuts and nut products have been removed from the kitchen this evening."

"Thank you." Oliver smiled at Felicity.

"Are you allergic to nuts?" Vic asked Oliver.

"I am." Felicity said, purposefully not looking at Oliver.

"How did I not know that?" Vic asked her. "I thought you just don't like them."

Felicity shrugged, embarrassed that Oliver had demonstrated that he knew her better than Vic. "I don't like to make a big deal about it."

Oliver, ever gallant in public, said, "We had an incident at QC that I'd rather not see repeated." This was untrue, but Felicity was grateful for the lie.

Vic gave Felicity a look that made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. "I'm so glad we were able to do this." Vic said to Oliver. "I've been trying to get Felicity to introduce me to her friends, but so far she hasn't. I'm starting to think she might be ashamed of me."

"I doubt that." Laurel gently patted Vic's hand. "I'm sure she just wants to keep you all to herself."

"Well, Felicity was one of my most valued employees. She was able to get me to most of my meetings on time." Oliver said teasingly. "What else would you like to know about Ms. Smoak?" Felicity brought her foot down sharply onto Oliver's. His smile never wavered.

"I'm sure you have some good stories. You did spend an awful lot of time together." Felicity could hear the suspicion in Vic's voice.

"Vic, don't be silly. Oliver didn't join us for dinner to talk about me." Felicity said aware that the smile on her face had become tight and unnatural.

"Let's see, what can I tell you about Felicity Smoak. She talks, a lot. She only ever remembered to bring me coffee, once." Oliver didn't flinch when Felicity kicked him under the table. "I'm pretty sure if I'd listened to her about Isabel Rochev, I'd still be CEO of QC." Felicity couldn't help but smile at his last comment. Just when she was ready to drop him off the nearest roof, Oliver would say something sweet and supportive.

"To be honest, I can't imagine Felicity as an Executive Assistant." Vic said.

"She was an unconventional choice, but she was the right one. I wasn't the most conventional CEO, I needed someone with a lot of brains to help me. I didn't get much of a business education while I was away." That was the last honest exchange Oliver shared all night.

It was strange to observe Oliver during their dinner. He was playing so many roles, he had to be dizzy. Felicity could only imagine how hard it was for him. She was struggling to maintain her cover as his former employee and not volunteer any information that might hint that there was something more between them. Oliver was portraying himself to Vic as the billionaire playboy, fallen scion, who despite losing everything, has remained vain, self-involved and pompous. It hurt Felicity to watch Oliver behave this way. She hated that people saw him that way and hated that he felt it necessary that they do. Even though Laurel knew his secret, Oliver seemed to be playing a different role for her. The charming and aloof boyfriend. He listened while she talked but didn't fail to notice a single attractive woman that walked by their table. Felicity couldn't decide if his behavior towards Laurel was for Vic's benefit or if he and Laurel were having issues that she didn't know about. Oliver's behavior towards Felicity was the most disconcerting. He was slightly condescending, clearly bored and mildly flirtatious. When he smiled at her, it never reached his eyes. There was no trace of the true Oliver. Felicity was positive that the man Oliver was when he was with her and Diggle, was the real Oliver. The man at dinner was wearing a mask. Felicity was counting the seconds for the dinner to be over.

As they waited for the valet to bring their cars, Vic and Felicity held hands while Oliver held Laurel in a tight embrace and she laughed at something he said into her ear. Felicity began to wonder what secrets Oliver was keeping from her. As far as she knew, Laurel and Oliver weren't together. He had said that after everything with Tommy and Sara, jumping into something with Laurel wasn't the best idea. Looking at them she wasn't sure if he had changed his mind. She hoped that their current behavior wasn't just for the benefit of the paparazzi, she didn't want Oliver hurting himself to help her, but she also hoped it wasn't genuine either. She didn't like watching Oliver play the man he was before the island. She really hoped she wasn't watching him become that man again. When Vic's car arrived, Oliver shook his hand and patted him on the back. Oliver opened the passenger door for Felicity and leaned in as if to give her a kiss on the cheek but whispered instead. "Was I terrible enough for you tonight?" Felicity watched Oliver as Vic drove off. He stood away from Laurel, his shoulders slumped, his head hung low and he looked like for all the world he were lost at sea again. Tears stung Felicity's eyes.

**Notes: I must admit, Oliver broke my heart a little at the end of this chapter. This is a turning point for him.**

**In case you are worried that Oliver is using Laurel, he isn't. Laurel has agreed to their arrangement so he can protect Felicity and she can protect her father. Oliver and Laurel are friends and neither are interested in starting up a romantic relationship again. I am operating under the belief that Oliver spoke the truth to Felicity when he told her he loved her in the finale.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Note: My story was originally 19 chapters. As I was rereading my original chapter 13 I decided it wasn't driving the story forward, so I've cut it. The chapter 13 I'm posting today will start to push the story forward with a new mystery.**

**There is some violence at the end of the chapter. I don't think it is too graphic, but I wanted to warn you that there is a physical confrontation.**

**I want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send me a comment or a kudos. Your feedback is appreciated.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

Felicity had just stepped out of her office building at SCU when her phone rang. "Where are you?" Oliver asked brusquely.

"I'm just leaving work now."

"You haven't forgotten about dinner with the QC board at Walter's?"

She wanted to say, _Yes, Oliver, I forgot the dinner with the board because we've only been working to make it happen for the past two months. _Instead, she said, "Relax, Oliver. Everything is going to be fine. You're prepared and you'll impress them with what you've been working on."

"The vote is next week, nothing can go wrong." It pained Felicity to hear the uncertainty in his voice.

"Are you sure you don't want Laurel to go with you instead? She is much better at schmoozing people than me. I'm likely to say something stupid." Oliver and Laurel had stopped pretending to be dating after their double date. When Felicity pressed him for details he told her that he and Laurel felt like they were falling into old unhealthy patterns and didn't want to jeopardize their friendship in the name of a ruse. He promised if the paparazzo's focus shifted back to them, he'd come up with something else to distract them. Mercifully, the paparazzi had moved onto other targets.

"Felicity, I need you there. You're part of what I'm bringing to the table. Besides, Walter wants you there too."

"I'm going to go home to change and then I will go right to Walter's. I'll see you in two hours." She paused a moment. "Oliver, don't be late. The Arrow is off tonight."

Oliver was quiet for a beat. "Agreed. I'll see you soon."

The hairs on the back of Felicity's neck stood up. She stopped walking and slowly turned in the spot where she was standing. Someone was watching her.

"Felicity? Are you still there?" He sounded concerned.

"Yeah, I'm here." She said as she scanned her surroundings. "I'll see you later." Even after the call disconnected, she kept the phone to her ear pretending to still be speaking with someone. She resumed walking towards the parking garage, her senses heightened. She took a deep breath after she was seated in her new car, a red Prius, and locked the doors. _Paranoid, much? _She asked herself aloud.

Dinner at Walter's was going to be black tie. Felicity planned on wearing the green gown she wore to the charity gala. Even with her new job, she didn't have a ball gown budget and would have to be seen wearing the same thing twice. Not the end of the world for most people, but she was pretty sure Moira Queen would've disapproved. Three very influential board members were going to be in attendance. They were interested to know what Oliver's vision for QC would be if he resumed his position as CEO. Oliver wanted the Applied Sciences division to be rebuilt as an investment in both QC, Starling and the future. Felicity was proud of how much work Oliver had put into his preparation to retake his family's business. The board members were bringing their spouses, but Oliver wanted Felicity at his side to speak to the technical side of his vision. Not since her MIT interview had Felicity felt such pressure to impress a group of people. Oliver was depending on her.

It took Felicity longer to get home than anticipated due to an accident snarling traffic. She burst through her apartment's front door, dropping her keys, bag and phone on the small entry table. She flung her shoes off her feet as she walked through her living room. Felicity set a record for getting ready. She showered, applied make-up, styled her hair and got dressed in under forty five minutes. She decided to wear her glasses instead of contacts because she thought maybe the board would take her more seriously. It was silly, but she really didn't want the board to see her as some bimbo. Oliver had too much riding on this dinner and they couldn't afford being seen as anything but professional colleagues.

She couldn't find the shoes she wanted to wear with the green gown. She probably had left them somewhere in her living room. Her shoes never quite made it back into her closet. She had walked half way across her living room before she realized she wasn't alone. She spun around to find a man behind her. Before she could react, he struck her across the face, dropping her to the ground. She scrambled across the hardwood floor trying to put distance between her and her attacker. He leaned down and grabbed hold of her hair, pulling her to her feet. She brought her heel down onto his instep and threw an elbow into his stomach which caused him to lose balance and brought them both down onto her coffee table, shattering it. He released his grip and she managed to untangle herself from him. She ran towards her front door with her arms outstretched. Her assailant slammed into her from behind. She heard a sickening snap as her right hand hit the door. Protectively she brought her arm up and struck her head against the door. She felt something sharp prick her neck and darkness began to swim in front of her eyes. Her last thought was of Oliver, waiting for her.


	14. Chapter 14

**Note:There is some minor violence and strong language in this chapter.**

**Thank you for your continued support of the story. All of your comments and ****_favoriting_**** have been overwhelming.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

The first thing she was aware of was how cold she was. She was laying on something hard, cold and damp. Her eyes felt heavy and it took a minute for her to will them open. A lone dim light bulb hung from the ceiling providing minimal illumination. Her vision was blurry but she was able to determine that she was in a small room with concrete floors and cinderblock walls. She could hear water dripping somewhere behind her and she attempted to roll over. Her ankles were taped together with electrician's tape. Her wrists were similarly bound behind her back. She gasped in pain as her weight was distributed across her wrists. Felicity was pretty sure her right wrist was broken. She managed to roll onto her side. There was a tiny rectangular window high up the wall. There was so much dirt on the window she was unable to determine if it was night or day. She shimmied along the floor until she was directly underneath the window. Using the wall for leverage she was able to pull herself into a semi seated position. She waited for a momentary wave of panic and nausea to pass. Her wrist was definitely broken, she could feel bone moving against bone. Her left eye was swollen shut. She probably had a big bump on her head too, but she was alive and needed to come up with a plan.

Felicity hadn't recognized her attacker and she didn't know which of the Arrow's enemies had taken her. Surely, Oliver would realize something was amiss when she didn't show up for dinner. She needed to stay calm and wait for her opportunity. She needed to stay alive until her captors screwed up or her guys came to rescue her. They would come for her, of this she had no doubt. The certainty of her conviction soothed her and she could feel her fear lessen. As long as there was breath in their bodies, Oliver and Dig would always come for her.

The sound of a door unlocking brought her attention to the far side of the room. A large metal door slowly opened and a woman was pushed into the room, falling onto her hands and knees. The man who had attacked her, entered the room and closed the door behind him. The woman lifted her head and Felicity gasped in surprise. "Mom?"

Her mom crawled on her hands and knees towards Felicity. "Baby, baby. I'm so sorry, did he hurt you?"

Felicity tried to absorb the presence of her mom being here with her. She had thought this was about the Arrow. Her mom was the last person she expected to see. Felicity's mom was only forty two and was in excellent shape for someone who lived life hard. She'd always taken pride in her appearance. Her hair was always big, red and perfectly styled. Her mom never left the house without her make-up. She wore tight fitting clothing that showed off her slim figure, artificial tan and her large fake breasts. The woman she was looking at now, was a mess. She was disheveled in a pair of blue jeans and a stained tank top. Her hair was dirty and her elaborate eye make-up had run with streaks of mascara running down her face. She gently touched Felicity's cheek, causing her to flinch. Her mom straightened Felicity's frames. "Your eye is cut, you're bleeding." Her mom pressed the edge of her tank top against the side of Felicity's face. When she removed it, the shirt came back stained with blood.

"Mom, what's going on?" Felicity asked confused.

"I'll tell you what's going on." The man said as he moved to loom over them. "Your no good whore of a mother is into my boss for two hundred and fifty." At this, her mom burst into tears.

"I don't understand. What do you want?" Felicity asked.

"I thought your kid was supposed to be a genius. We want," he said slowly, "the mo-ney."

"I don't have that much money." Felicity shouted. She could feel anger towards her mother bubbling dangerously close to the surface. Her mom loved to gamble but two hundred and fifty thousand dollars of debt was insane, even for her mom.

"We know you don't, but your boyfriend does." He sneered.

"Vic? You're asking Vic for ransom money?" Felicity didn't think Vic had that much money. He was only on the local news.

The man squatted down next to her mom and lifted her head up by the hair. "How many boyfriends does she have? I guess the kid doesn't fall far from the tree, does she Donna?" He released her mom and grabbed Felicity's shoulder. " I don't know who this Vic is, but I'm talking about your other boyfriend, Oliver Queen."

"Oliver Queen isn't my boyfriend." She said tersely. The pounding in her head intensified. No matter what they did to show they weren't together, everyone insisted that they were. _Maybe if we get together, people will stop believing that we are together._

"Well, you better hope he thinks he is." The man pushed Felicity and she fell back onto her side. The bones moving in her wrist made her cry out in pain. The man took a picture of her with his phone and turned away from them.

Her mom moved towards her and tried to lift her back into a sitting position. "Mom, who are these people? What did you do?"

Her mom started to stroke Felicity's head. "I'm sorry, honey. I had some bad luck."

Felicity bit down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from yelling at her mom. Her mom always blamed _bad luck_ when she was trying to distance herself from any responsibility for her own actions. "You're making a huge mistake." Felicity said to the man.

"I don't think so. Look." He said smugly, holding the phone out towards her. "Lover boy is calling, say hello." When she didn't say anything, he exploded. "Say, hello."

"Hello." Felicity said.

"Felicity? Are you okay?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver." Felicity said, unable to stop the sob that followed.

"Oh, god. Felicity. Are you okay?" Oliver asked sounding panicked. He must have an audience, because there was so no evidence of the Arrow in his voice.

The man answered." She's alive, but she won't stay that way unless you do exactly what I tell you."

"Whatever you want, just don't hurt her." Oliver said with a hollow voice.

"How sweet. She said you weren't her boyfriend. Let's see if she's right. You're to transfer five million dollars to the account number I send you after I hang up. You have two hours to comply or she's dead. Call me back when it's done." The man disconnected the call and yanked her mom up by the arm. "Let's go Donna. You better hope he pays, because otherwise I'll kill you first." He dragged her mom from the room, locking the door behind them.

Five million dollars. Oliver didn't have five million dollars, Felicity thought to herself. How was he going to transfer any money without her there to make it happen? Even if he found a way to transfer the money, there was nothing to keep this guy from killing her or her mom. He wasn't hiding his face, that was never a good sign. She needed to get out of this room. Ignoring the pain, she slid her arms behind her bottom and pulled her legs through. The pain was so intense she feared she'd lose consciousness. With her arms now in front of her, she removed her glasses. The lens in the right eye was cracked and Felicity was able to snap the glass. She used the jagged edge to cut her ankles free. She then put the blade between her knees and rubbed the tape across the glass until her hands were free. She flexed her arms and legs in order to get her circulation flowing. She stood up, the room lurched and Felicity vomited. When the room stopped moving she examined the door. It was locked and she didn't see any way to open the door from the inside. She moved back to the window. Even if she had the ability to pull herself up, the window was too small to squeeze through. She sank to the ground, despairing she'd ever leave the room alive. She didn't notice the glass digging into the palm of her hand.

When the man returned to the room, Felicity was waiting for him. She had tucked her legs underneath her and held her arms behind her back - the shard of glass in her left hand. "Lover boy followed directions. Say, hello, lover boy."

"Felicity?" He asked gently.

"Oliver." She responded, trying to sound strong.

"You have your money, just tell me where she is." Oliver's voice had been replaced with his Arrow voice. Hearing it gave Felicity comfort.

"I would, but I've become so attached to my pretty guest. I don't see how I can let her go for less than ten million." The man's face was contorted in a self satisfied sneer.

Felicity gasped. "Don't Oliver, he's going to kill me anyway."

"Stupid, bitch." The man said striking her.

Felicity lashed out at the man, the glass sinking into his cheek. Felicity moved past him and out the door. She took a second to get her bearings, without her glasses everything was an indistinct blur. She navigated the narrow corridor towards a flight of wooden stairs. Her mom must be somewhere else. She ran up the stairs two at a time, her injured wrist pressed against her chest. She opened the door and stopped dead in her tracks, completely disoriented by what she was seeing. She had opened the door into what appeared to be a suburban living room. The television was set to the reality show, the _Real Housewives of Coast City_. Sitting on the sofa, with a beer in her hand, was her mother. She was flipping through a magazine, perfectly relaxed and at home. All the distress from earlier was gone. Her hair and make-up were flawless and she was neatly dressed in a banana yellow mini dress. "Mom?" Startled, her mom dropped her drink. Felicity didn't understand what she was seeing. _Why is she watching television? Had she been let go when Oliver made the first payment?_ Felicity cringed thinking her mom had secured some freedom by agreeing to sleep with their captor. Felicity shook off her shock and grabbed her mom's arm. "We've got to get out of here."

Her mom wrenched her hand free and wiped the alcohol that was beading on her dress. "Now, look what you've done." Her mom looked up. "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

Felicity realized her mom wasn't speaking to her. She turned and saw her captor holding a towel to his face with one hand and a truncheon with the other. As he raised it to strike her she couldn't help but turn to face her mom. The look on her mom's face was a combination of boredom and annoyance. When the blow hit the back of her head, Felicity slowly dropped to her knees. As the darkness began to surround her she realized that she'd been kidnapped by her own mother.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes: I reposted this chapter due to a formatting error. My thanks to VMlover who wrote to let me know. **

**This is the end of the violent chapters. This chapter does have the strongest violence and language in the story.**

**My thanks to everyone who continues to support this story with their reviews and choosing to follow and/or favorite it**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

The sound of a foghorn brought Felicity back to consciousness. She was laying on a wooden dock and could hear the water below her. A light rain was falling. Felicity wondered how long she'd been laying there shivering. Her clothing was soaked through and her teeth began to chatter. This time, her legs were not bound but her wrists were, once again, taped behind her back. She rose to her knees to better observe her surroundings. She was on one of the old wharfs that was still in use by commercial fisherman. An old abandoned cannery was behind her. Her mom, now dressed in blue jeans and a red leather jacket was having a heated exchange with the man. She realized that her suspicion had been right, her mom was involved with her kidnapping. She wasn't sure if she had orchestrated it, but she was an active participant. Felicity had completely underestimated her mom's ability to plan and execute a strategy. She could feel rage building hot and fast within herself and briefly wondered if this is what Oliver felt every time he put on the hood. Felicity couldn't make out what they were saying and she didn't care. They were distracted and she could try to make her escape. She tried to stand, but was so dizzy she toppled back onto the dock. A sharp cry escaped her as she landed on her broken wrist. Her mom rushed towards her. "Sshh, baby, it's okay."

"Okay?" Felicity cried. "Are you kidding me?" Felicity couldn't stop her tears. "Did you have me kidnapped?"

"Don't take that tone with me." Her mother snapped. "What kind of daughter gets her claws into a billionaire and doesn't share? I asked you for money, but you were too cheap - just rent and groceries. I have needs too, Felicity. Are you the only one who can have nice things?"

"You did this to get Oliver's money? Mom, he's broke. You believe the papers that we're dating, but not that he's broke?" Felicity was astounded by the fiction her mom had created around her and Oliver.

"Everybody knows all his money is offshore." Her mom gloated. "He paid five million already and he's on his way here with ten more - in cash."

"Step away from her." The Arrow ordered.

"Felicity's mom pulled her to her feet and held her tightly against her chest. The muzzle of a gun was placed against Felicity's temple. Felicity could smell the alcohol on her mom's breath.

Oliver had his bow drawn and aimed at her, his eyes cold and lethal. "I said, step away

"The man drew his gun and a single shot rang out. The man dropped to the dock. Dig was there too, somewhere in the shadows.

"Don't shoot." Felicity cried out to both Oliver and Dig. "She's my mother."

For a moment, Oliver looked like he was going to lower his bow, but he squared his shoulders. "I'm not going to let her hurt you."

"Please, don't." Felicity begged. She wasn't sure if she was pleading with her mom or Oliver.

"No one needs to get hurt," her mother told the Arrow. "Her boyfriend is coming with ten million dollars. We can split it." Oliver took two steps towards them. "Take another step and I'll shoot her." Her mom said with venom. Felicity could feel her own heart start to crack. "Don't think I won't. She's been nothing but selfish since the day she was born. I could've had a good life, but what man wants a woman with a daughter like her?"

"Mom, stop, please." Felicity sobbed. She wasn't hearing anything she hadn't heard a million times growing up. Whenever her mom drank or got high on pain pills she would list Felicity's numerous failings and expound upon how her very existence ruined any possible chance her mom could ever have to be happy.

"I deserve this money." Her mom said defiantly as she dragged Felicity closer to the edge of the dock.

"Don't take another step." Oliver growled.

Felicity's mom pressed her lips against her ear and began to hiss. "Do you think he actually loves you? Do you? Where's your precious Oliver? Did you honestly think you could escape who you are? That your fancy school and your fancy job and pretty clothes could hide where you're from?" Between her mom's words, the pounding in her head and the smell of alcohol on her mom's breath, Felicity thought she was going to be sick. "You're no better than me. He sees you for what you are - trash with a bad dye job. He'll never bring you home to his family and friends. He's going to have his fun and then leave you - just like your father. He doesn't love you - he's just using you." Her mom lowered the gun from Felicity's head and pressed it into her chest. "He is just going to break your heart and laugh with his friends about the time he slummed it with the daughter of a cocktail waitress. You're nothing more than a whore to him." Her mom's words were slicing through her like a knife. The rage she had initially felt was being replaced with shame. She felt naked standing in front of Oliver. She'd been hiding the truth about herself since the day they met and now her mom was exposing her for what she was. All her hard work over the years to become someone else was being stripped away to reveal the girl who grew up lonely and unloved.

Oliver lowered his bow to the ground and turned off his voice modulator. "Please, let her go. I'll give you whatever you want." He lowered his hood and pulled his mask down around his neck. He raised his hands and took two slow steps towards them. "Please, don't hurt her."

"No." Felicity sobbed.

"Oliver Queen." Her mom began to laugh. "Like mother like daughter. You sure know how to pick 'em. All these years you judged me and you're schtupping a criminal? Even I never screwed a murderer."

"Mom, please. Just let me go. If you want money, I'll give you money." Felicity didn't care if she sounded like she was begging. She knew that there was no way this could end well. Oliver had revealed his identity for her sake, but her mom was not to be trusted. She couldn't see Dig, but she knew his gun was now trained on her mom. Oliver wouldn't have lowered his bow if he didn't know his partner had her mom in his crosshairs. "Oliver, John, please." Felicity couldn't keep the desperation from her voice.

Oliver took another step forward, his eyes never leaving her mother's. "Please, put the gun down. We can work this out. I know you don't want to hurt her. I have the ten million in the car. If you want the money, just let her go."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know you'll never give me that money - you're going to kill me." The gun pressed harder into Felicity's side and she gave out an involuntary cry.

"Let her go and you can walk out of here with the money, but, I promise you, if you hurt her. I will kill you." Oliver's voice had gone steely. He was rubbing the index finger of his right hand against his thumb. Felicity knew him well enough to know he was fighting to remain calm.

Her mom whispered in her ear, "If that doesn't just beat everything. I think he actually loves you." Addressing Oliver she said, "You love her, don't you?"

Oliver shifted his eyes to Felicity's and he gave her an almost imperceptible smile. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak when a shot rang out and her mother lurched, a strangled gurgle escaping her lips. Her male kidnapper had raised his arm and shot wildly towards them, the bullet catching her mom in the throat. Felicity and her mom stumbled backwards towards the edge of the dock. In an instant Felicity saw Dig step from the shadows and fire three shots into to the man. Oliver was sprinting towards her, her name on his lips.

The world went silent around Felicity. She felt as if she were falling forever. With her hands bound she had no way to regain her balance. She watched powerlessly as her mom fell into the murky water. Felicity braced herself for the cold plunge, when Oliver's arms were around her waist pulling her back onto the dock. Sound rushed back all at once. She heard police sirens, Dig calling for Oliver to run as a horrible keening escaped her own lips. She watched as her mom's body sank beneath the water, reddened by her blood. Oliver squeezed her tight, whispered something in her ear, cut her binds and then he was gone. Felicity slumped onto the dock and prayed for the darkness to swallow her.

**Notes: Everyone okay? This was a tough chapter. Only three more chapters to go. Next up - Felicity deals with her mom's death. Oliver and Felicity begin to have a shift in perspective.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes: The last chapter definitely got a reaction. Thank you to everyone who took the time to send me a review or made the story a favorite. Thank you to Lara from Brazil, I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

Felicity never lost consciousness but she'd been unable to respond to what was happening around her. She was aware of Detective Lance putting his jacket around her shoulders and the paramedics strapping her onto a gurney. She knew they were asking her questions but she was at a loss for what they were asking her.

_Mom is dead._

_Mom is dead._

_Mom is dead. _

At the hospital, she was surrounded by doctors and nurses. They were cutting her gown off and she didn't care. Someone was shining a bright light into her eyes and she closed them in an attempt to escape. She heard Oliver calling her name. She turned her head, searching for him. He was standing just beyond the entrance to her door. A nurse had her hands on his chest, blocking his entry. Dig stood behind him, a restraining hand on his shoulder. Oliver called her name again. He was upset. She tried to sit up, but a nurse gently pushed her back onto the bed. Something warm was injected into her arm and she could feel her whole body begin to relax. Oliver had pushed his way into the room. He was standing over her and placed his lips to her forehead. He whispered her name and it floated down and gently caressed her. She was safe. She smiled at him and surrendered to the darkness.

When she awoke, she was laying in a darkened hospital room. She was connected to an I.V. and she had a cast on her right arm. Oliver was asleep in a chair, his head resting on her bed with an arm draped across her knees. Diggle was standing at the window, looking out across the city with a cup of coffee in his hand. "John." Felicity croaked out with her parched throat.

Dig turned with a gentle smile on his face. "You're awake," he said quietly as he placed his coffee on her bedside table and picked up a cup of water. He placed the straw against her lips. Felicity took several grateful sips and sighed as the cool water slid down her very dry throat. He returned the cup to the table and handed her a pair of glasses.

"Thank you." The glasses were her spare pair and nowhere near as cute as her usual frames, but she was happy to be able to see again. "It's not pink."

"What's not pink?" Confusion written all over his face.

Felicity lifted her arm to show Diggle her cast. "When I was little I was always a little jealous of the kids who had casts. Everyone would sign it or draw a picture on it. Even if they weren't your friend they would sign it. It seemed nice. I wanted a pink cast that everyone could sign."

"I'm sure we could ask them to make it pink." Felicity could tell amusement and concern were warring for primacy on Dig's face.

"Is she dead?" Felicity knew the answer from the pained look that Dig gave her. Oliver, who had woken while she was talking about her cast, sat up and took her left hand. His eyes were red and puffy. Something stirred deep within her as she realized that Oliver had been crying for her.

"Felicity." Oliver pressed her knuckles to his lips. His eyes pleaded with her to not ask again.

"Is she dead?" Felicity felt far removed from herself. She absently wondered if it was shock or painkillers that made her feel numb.

"Yes." Dig sat down on the edge of her bed, across from Oliver. "She didn't suffer. The shot killed her instantly."

"That's good." Felicity said looking out the window. "Not good that she's dead. Good that she didn't suffer. Did they get her out of the water?"

"Yes." Dig stroked Felicity's hair and turned her chin so she was looking at him. "I'm sorry, Felicity."

Felicity dropped her eyes. She was afraid to look at either one of them. She couldn't bear to see the pity she knew she would find in their eyes. "I need to make arrangements. What day is it?"

"Felicity, you don 't need to worry about it. I'll make the arrangements." Oliver moved so he was sitting on the edge of her bed, his back nearly touching Diggle's.

"I need to know the day because she really should be buried within twenty four hours unless it is the Sabbath and then it can wait another day but I don't know what day is today. Is it the Sabbath?" Felicity could feel the hysteria building from the pit of her stomach. "I really should call my rabbi, I'm sure he'd officiate even though he doesn't know my mom and I really haven't shown up for a service for a long time. I don't even go for the High Holy days anymore. I guess if you want someone to do a funeral for you it is probably better if you show up for services once and awhile." The words were gushing out of her at an ever increasing speed.

"Felicity." Oliver said quietly.

"I don't even know where to go to make arrangements. I need a casket and flowers, oh, I need a cemetery plot. I'm sure there is a Jewish cemetery in Starling. I mean there has to be, right. I'm not the only Jew in town, of course not, I just said I had a rabbi, so where there is a rabbi there must be a Jewish cemetery. I guess a non denominational cemetery would be fine too." Felicity was aware that hot tears were pouring down her face. "I don't have any family and you guys aren't Jewish and even if you were you don't make a Minyan so I don't know who will say Kaddish for her. I'm sure some people from the synagogue will do it, women aren't traditionally allowed to say it and there isn't any man in the family, wow, which is really sexist as I say it aloud, I'm her daughter, I really should be the one to say it. Oh, who is going to say it when I die?"

"Felicity, breathe." Oliver gently cupped her cheek. "Take a deep breath." Oliver took a deep breath as an example. As he went to take another, he widened his eyes and nodded for her to follow his lead. Felicity took a deep breath and as she exhaled she let out a sob. Oliver crushed her to his chest, securing her head below his chin. "You don't need to worry about anything. I'm going to take care of everything." Felicity snaked her arms around Oliver's waist and listened to the steady thrumming of his heart. She focused on his breathing and forced herself to match his. She could feel calm beginning to replace the hysteria. The door to her room opened. Diggle rose from the bed. Oliver turned his head to see who had entered but didn't release his hold on Felicity. He dropped his head on top of hers and whispered, "It's Lance and Vic."

Oliver released her and stood to face her visitors, his billionaire playboy mask firmly in place. "Detective. Vic. I just wanted to make sure Felicity was okay and to tell her how sorry I am. I feel like this whole ordeal is the press' fault. It's bad enough the tabloids go after me, it really isn't fair to drag someone who has nothing to do with me into the mud. There are some sick people in this world."

Vic stood frozen in the doorway staring at her. Felicity shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. She couldn't tell if he was concerned with her bruised face or with the intimate scene he'd just interrupted. Vic moved past Oliver and took the seat he just vacated on Felicity's bed. "Are you okay?" Vic pressed a kiss to her forehead. He held her arms gently and was searching her eyes, looking for her answer.

"I'm fine." Felicity smiled, avoiding his eyes. She held up her cast for Vic. "It's nothing."

"Ms. Smoak. Are you ready to answer some questions?" Lance asked gently as he moved to the side of Felicity's bed.

"Can't this wait until tomorrow?" Vic said protectively. "She should rest." Vic noticed that Oliver and Diggle were still in the room. He stood up and approached Oliver with his hand outstretched. Oliver shook his hand. "Queen, we appreciate everything you did to help Felicity. She's safe now and I'm going to take care of her."

Felicity saw the slightest of winces pass over Oliver's face. He didn't look happy to be dismissed or banished from her room. He smiled at Vic. "It has been a long two days. I'm going to head home and get some sleep."

Felicity had a sudden moment of panic. The last thing she wanted was for either Oliver or Dig to leave her. Diggle caught her eye and gave her a look that said, _Please, we aren't going anywhere. _She gave him a small smile and relaxed into her pillows. Of course they wouldn't leave her. It was times like this she really hated their secret identities. They really needed better covers. As Vic closed the door behind Oliver and Dig she suddenly felt guilty. She was happy to see Vic, she was just sorrier to see her guys go. "It's good to see you up and around and back at work, Detective Lance. I just wish it wasn't to see me."

"I'm sorry about your mother." Detective Lance said. Felicity felt sorry for him. He looked like he'd prefer to be anywhere other than speaking with her.

"Thank you, detective." Felicity shifted in her bed. She was starting to feel pain everywhere. She wondered if the nurses would give her something.

"I have to say I was surprised when I got the report on the woman they pulled from the harbor. I wasn't expecting her to be your mom and I sure wasn't expecting your mom to have her record."

Felicity looked from Lance to Vic and sighed. Her mom was never easy to explain. She was grateful Oliver and Dig were no longer in the room to hear about her mom's record."My mom wasn't exactly Claire Huxtable."

"Possession, solicitation, petty theft - her rap sheet is pretty extensive - but not a lot of convictions." Lance looked at her sympathetically.

"She had a decent lawyer." It was true, her mom did have a decent lawyer. It was only when Felicity got older that she realized what goods her mother traded for his services. Vegas was not a place for the faint of heart. Part of the reason she had fought so hard to get into MIT was so she could finally wash the dirt of Vegas off her skin.

"Was your mom involved in your kidnapping?" Lance asked pointedly.

"What? No." Felicity hadn't thought that she was going to lie for her mother, but old habits die hard. "My mom had nothing to do with this. She was a victim too."

"Your mom wasn't exactly mother of the year. Fifteen million dollars is more than enough for some people to sell out their family." Lance was looking at her like he did the first time he brought her in for questioning.

"My mom wasn't perfect and she owed some bad people a lot of money. I guess they decided to collect through my tabloid relationship with Mr. Queen."

"The man who died on the dock, did you know him?" Lance asked as he opened his notebook. "His name was Richie Thompson. He worked for some unsavory people in your old home town."

"I never saw him before he grabbed me at my apartment." Which was true.

"Who shot him?" Lance asked her, his eyes boring into hers.

"I don't know, I didn't see who it was." Felicity touched her glasses. "My glasses were broken - I couldn't see anything."

"Was it the Arrow?" Lance asked gently. Felicity was grateful Lance wasn't revealing her secret in front of Vic.

"Last I checked, the Arrow didn't use bullets. I didn't see the Arrow or anyone else." Felicity closed her eyes. "I don't know what happened. The man shot my mom, someone shot the man - maybe there was another kidnapper. Maybe that person panicked when he heard the police sirens." Whatever calm Felicity had was rapidly disappearing. "All I know is that my mom is dead and I thought I was going to die."

"Detective, I think that's enough for tonight." Vic put his arm around Felicity's shoulders.

"Ms. Smoak, Felicity, I'm sorry, but we are going to need you to identify the body." Lance said as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

Felicity burst out laughing. Nothing was remotely funny but the laughter rushed out of her, leaving her breathless. Vic rushed from the room calling for a nurse. Detective Lance was stroking her head speaking soothing words and still the laughter poured from her. Her mom had kidnapped her to demand a fifteen million dollar ransom from Oliver, the man she assumed was her lover but was in fact her vigilante partner who had spent five years lost at sea and used that time to become a killer. Felicity was spying on her boyfriend who was trying to identify her as the partner of the vigilante and who also thought she was or had been sleeping with Oliver. She wasn't sure who Oliver was sleeping with, it wasn't Laurel, maybe it was no one, but he might still have a thing for gorgeous Laurel who he cheated on numerously, most disturbingly, with her sister who he'd only just recently broken up with and let's not forget Laurel had been in love with Oliver's best friend, Tommy, who she cheated on with Oliver and who is now dead thanks to Moira Queen's diabolical scheming. And, Oliver, Oliver had told her he loved her in order to use her as bait to save the city from a man with superhuman strength who blamed Oliver for the death of the woman he loved five years before and who Oliver was sleeping with, except Felicity was pretty sure Oliver did mean it when he told her he loved her and she loved him but they were going to pretend like they didn't because their lives were way too complicated. Her mom died hating her. And her mom was dead. Another wave of laughter had her doubled over in her bed. Vic returned to the room with a nurse. The nurse injected something into her I.V. and Vic rubbed soothing circles onto her back. Oliver and Dig were back in the doorway, concern etched onto their brows. She looked up at them and between giggles she said to them, "He wants me to identify her body." Her eyes went wide and she clutched her hands to her chest. "Oliver, I can't breathe." He rushed into the room, reaching for her as he called her name. Felicity gasped for air and began to hiccup as the nurse pushed her back against the pillows. _How is this my life?_ She wasn't sure if she thought it or said it, but the drugs were kicking in and she really didn't care.

**Notes: Only two more chapters left. Next up Felicity and Vic have a talk.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes: Thank you for your overwhelming response to the last chapter. I appreciate everyone who took the time to send me a review. Thank you to all of the new story subscribers and to everyone who has made the story a favorite. **

**This is the penultimate chapter to this story. Felicity and Vic have some issues to resolve. Olicity is coming.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

It was the morning of her mom's funeral and Felicity woke up alone in Vic's bed. Her apartment was technically a crime scene and she only had awkward choices of where to go when the hospital released her. Vic had offered his place, which was perfectly natural and she should really have wanted to be comforted by him, but the truth was she wanted to be with Oliver and Diggle at the lair. She really should've said something, but when the time came to leave the hospital, Vic had been with her while Oliver and Diggle were off making funeral arrangements. When Vic said she was coming home with him she couldn't think of a way out that wouldn't involve an argument and she was too tired and emotionally drained to have that argument with the boyfriend she knew she had to break up with. When they got to his place, Vic had been his usual wonderful self. He made her a dinner that she couldn't bring herself to eat, drew her a warm bath and held her all night. She really couldn't ask for a better boyfriend, so why did her heart want to be with someone else?

The smell of coffee got her out of bed. She brushed her hair and teeth while she had an internal debate with her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

_Okay, Felicity. I'm not going to lie to you, today is going to be a bad day. You have a funeral, let's not mince words, your mom's funeral, plus, you really need to break up with your boyfriend. _

_Do I really need to break up with him today? Won't today be tough enough without breaking up with a really nice guy who has been good to me?_

_Shouldn't you break up with him because he's a really nice guy that you aren't and will never be in love with?_

_One crisis at a time._

_Get it over with._

_Funeral, today. Break up, tomorrow._

_Coward._

She joined Vic in his kitchen. Her heart sank as she watched Vic move around his kitchen preparing her breakfast. Despite her earlier decision, she knew that it was time to end their relationship before she caused him any further pain. Felicity sat down on one of the kitchen island stools and Vic put a steaming cup of coffee in front of her. She wrapped her hands around the mug and took a deep breath. _Courage._ Vic put a plate down in front of her - scrambled eggs, some fruit and toast. He sat down next to her. _After breakfast._

"Thank you. It smells delicious." Felicity took a bite of her eggs and smiled. "Even better than it smells." Vic didn't respond and began to eat his own breakfast. Felicity watched him eat and could tell that something wasn't right with him. She reached out and tentatively touched his hand. "Hey, what happened? What's wrong?"

Vic smiled weakly and withdrew his hand. "Just eat your breakfast."

"Vic, I know something is wrong. Please tell me what it is." Felicity had never seen Vic be evasive with her before.

"Your mom's funeral is in a few hours, I don't want to have this conversation now." Vic averted his eyes and took a drink of his coffee.

"What conversation?" Nervous butterflies began to swarm in her stomach and the hairs on the back of her neck were at attention. _He is going to break up with me. _

"I so don't want to be that guy. Please, don't make me be that guy." Felicity looked at him questioningly. "You know the guy who is a complete asshole the day the girl really needs him, except I guess you really don't need me." _He is so breaking up with you._ "Felicity, we need to break up."

"Hmmm." Felicity could feel all the air go out of the room. She felt a little foolish for being shocked into speechlessness by his announcement, especially when she had resolved to do the same thing only moments before.

"I know we joke around about your crush on the vigilante and the rumors about you and Queen, but Felicity, I'm not a fool. I have eyes." Vic's eyes were boring into hers. "The way the two of you were at the hospital, I'd have to be blind not to know something is going on between you."

"Nothing has happened between me and Oliver." She had found her voice, but it had gone cold.

"Mmm, and I believe that you believe that, I do, but I also have ears." Vic absently pushed around the food on his plate.

"Ears?" Felicity was confused, Vic wasn't making any sense.

"Do you remember last night at all, after we went to bed?" Felicity shook her head. She remembered her bath, getting into bed, taking her pain pills and Vic wrapping his arm around her. That was it until she woke up this morning. "I didn't think so, you were pretty high on pain pills. You were having nightmares and you were calling out for Oliver. When I wrapped my arms around you, you called me Oliver."

Felicity felt like she'd been punched in the gut. The look of anguish on Vic's face was making her chest hurt. She hadn't meant to, but she had hurt him. She thought about how she would feel if Vic was calling out for another woman when her arms were around him and tears welled in her eyes. She knew the reason she called out for Oliver was more than just her feelings for him, he was the one person who rescued her whenever she needed rescuing. Oliver made her feel safe. It wasn't fair to be with one man when even her subconscious cried out for another. "I'm so sorry, Vic. I never wanted to hurt you. I care about you."

Vic wiped his eyes. "I care about you too. I know I could fall for you, I think I might already have. I just don't think you can love me, not when you're not sure if you're in love with him. I can't be your consolation prize and I can't keep wondering if you're thinking of him every time I put my arms around you." Vic leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "You're an incredible woman. I hope you find what you're looking for." He rose from the stool, scraped his food into the trash and put his plate in the dishwasher. "We better hurry if we don't want to be late."

"I'll go get ready. Would you mind calling me a cab?" Felicity scraped her food into the trash, her appetite completely gone.

"A cab? I'm not sending you to your mom's funeral in a cab."Vic placed his hands on her shoulders. "No, I'm coming with you. You're still my friend, I don't want you facing this alone."

Felicity stretched up on her toes, took his face between her hands and placed a kiss on his lips. Her ego was a little hurt that she'd just been dumped, but she hoped that Vic's pain was lessened by the fact that he'd been the one to end things. "You are a good man, Vic Sage. I appreciate the offer, but I think it is best if I face this on my own. You've done more than enough for me already."

"Fine, but I'm not sending you in a cab." His expression was determined and Felicity knew better than to argue.

It was too bad her life was complicated. Vic really was a good guy. Maybe if they'd met earlier, things would've been different. As she stood under the shower she realized that once she'd met Oliver it could never have been any other way.

**Note: The next chapter is a long one. I promise, Oliver and Felicity will be front and center for the entire chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes: Thank you to everyone who has continued reading the story. I appreciate all the reviews and encouragement I received for my first fic. **

**This is a very long chapter. I hope you don't mind.**

**The Arrow characters and universe do not belong to me.**

It was a perfect summer morning. The sky was cloudless and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees. It was warm, but not uncomfortable. Felicity listened to the birds singing in the surrounding trees and watched a butterfly dance across a rose bush. The incongruity between the beautiful day and her purpose in the cemetery was not lost on her. A day like today should be spent on a beach drinking fruity rum drinks whilst listening to calypso, not listening to a rabbi pray over a grave. Funerals should always be cold, wet and dreary. Felicity wanted to be pelted by rain and have her hair lashed by wind - she wanted the outside world to match the storm that was raging inside of her. She was standing over her mom's grave and she was grieving, but she didn't know if she was grieving for the loss of her mom or for the loss of her mom ever turning into the mom she always wanted. She was angry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw things. She wanted to beg her mom to take back all the hateful things she said. She wanted to tell her mom she hated her. She wanted to tell her mom she loved her. Mostly, she wanted to ask her, why?

After her bout of hysteria in the hospital, Felicity had told Oliver and Diggle she didn't want a funeral. Her mom didn't deserve one. Oliver had told her not to repeat his mistake and that she should take the opportunity to say good-bye. He told her that all she would need to do would be to show up and that he would take care of everything else. Oliver had been true to his word and had made all of the arrangements. The funeral was sparsely attended by four of her former QC colleagues from the IT department, Professor Hamilton, Detective Lance, Laurel, Roy, Lyla and Walter. Dig and Oliver decided that today was not the day for secret identities. Oliver held Felicity's left hand and John stood on her right, his arm around her shoulder holding her against his side. The rabbi finished his prayer and gestured for Felicity to pick up the shovel that was sitting in a pile of dirt alongside the grave. Felicity awkwardly picked the shovel up with her left hand and scooped up a small amount of dirt with the back of it. With a shaking hand she dropped the dirt onto her mother's coffin. The sound of the dirt and small pebbles hitting the wood of the coffin made her flinch. Oliver was immediately at her side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as he took the shovel from her. Her attention was caught by a hummingbird hovering in a bush. Oliver had to say her name to draw her attention back to the rabbi who was speaking to her. She had missed the other mourners shoveling dirt into the grave.

Walter had graciously offered his home to host the reception. Felicity had told Walter that a reception was unnecessary but he insisted and she relented. She stood in front of the fireplace in his living room and made small polite conversation with her guests. Everyone was kind and told her they were sorry for her loss. She smiled and thanked them for their kindness. She listened as the rabbi spoke to Walter about a charity in the Glades. The rabbi was talking about rebuilding some non-denominational community center that had been destroyed in the Undertaking. Felicity was about to interrupt the rabbi to change the subject when Oliver squeezed her hand and gave a small shake of his head. He didn't need her to protect him today. Oliver put his arm around her waist, his hand firmly on her hip. She was vaguely aware of Professor Hamilton approaching them and wasn't really paying attention as he began to speak to Oliver about the Applied Sciences division at QC and how important it was for it to be rebuilt after the terrorist attack. Oliver gave her a sideways glance, the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly, and she knew he was thinking back to the night when they blew up the Applied Sciences building together. The professor was concerned that there was a war on science and reasoned thought and it was critical that the community should see businesses reinvest in science and research. Oliver assured the professor that if he regained control of QC, rebuilding the Applied Sciences division would be his first priority. She could feel her former QC colleagues studying every interaction she had with Oliver. Felicity pulled away from Oliver and crossed the room to speak to Dig and Lyla.

"John, Lyla, thank you so much for coming. It means a lot to me." Felicity said as Dig pulled her into a bear hug.

"For such a smart woman, you say the silliest things. Where else would I be?" Felicity relaxed in his embrace. If there was any safer feeling than being held by Dig, she couldn't think of it. Baby Diggle was going to be one lucky kid to have this pair of arms to hold it. This baby was going to always know what it felt to be loved and safe.

Roy put a hand on her back. "Blondie, I've got to go to work."

Felicity embraced him. "Thanks for everything. The guys told me how helpful you were while I was gone." Roy blushed but hugged her back.

The rest of the guests took Roy's departure as a cue to leave. She positioned herself next to the front door and thanked everyone, again. When it was the beautiful District Attorney standing in front of her, Felicity reached out and took Laurel's hands. Lance was speaking with Oliver and no one else was close enough to overhear. "Laurel, thank you, for everything. Not just for today, but for what you did when we thought Vic might be getting too close to learning my secret."

Laurel gently squeezed Felicity's hands. "It was the least I could do. After what you did to help save me from Slade, I don't think I can ever thank you enough."

Felicity was slightly taken aback. This was the first time she and Laurel had spoken about their time being held by Slade, she wasn't sure what to say. She hadn't done it to save Laurel. She'd done it because Oliver asked her to do it and it was the best chance they had of saving the city from Waller's drones. "You agreed to help Oliver distract the paparazzi from me so I could give my relationship with Vic a shot, I think we can call us even."

"I'm sorry things didn't work out for you and Vic." Laurel noticing Felicity's questioning look, continued. "He isn't here, so I made an educated guess."

"My life was all a bit too much for him." Felicity said with a shrug of her shoulders and a quick glance at Oliver.

Laurel glanced over her shoulder towards Oliver and then pulled Felicity into an hug. "I'm sorry about your mom." Her arms tightened around Felicity and she spoke softly. "Let him take care of you. He's crazy about you and nearly went out of his mind while you were gone. You need to be patient with Oliver, but I don't need to tell you that."

"Thank you." Felicity said as they stepped away from the hug. She was thanking Laurel for more than just helping her with Vic, but for giving her blessing for whatever was happening with Oliver.

"When you're feeling better maybe we can go to dinner and catch a movie or something." Laurel said with a smile.

"I'd like that. There is way too much testosterone in my life these days." Felicity smiled as Laurel laughed. It would be nice to have someone to do normal things with that she didn't need to lie to about how she spent her nights.

Diggle and Lyla were the last to leave."I want to get Lyla off her feet, but I'll see you later." Dig kissed the top of her head and released her. His arms were replaced by Lyla's who gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Walter put an arm around Felicity and a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "You two are staying, right? I have some things I would like to discuss with both of you."

"Walter, thank you for everything you've done for me." Felicity had prepared a whole speech, but Walter interrupted her before she could begin.

"Your thanks are unnecessary but you are most welcome. You have been a good friend to this family and I wish there was more I could do for you. Now, I want both of you to make yourselves at home. I have several calls to make but after, we will talk."

Oliver took her hand and led her into Walter's library. He sat her in a large leather armchair and placed a cashmere blanket over her lap. Oliver excused himself and when he returned he held two glasses of whiskey."I don't like whiskey," Felicity said, wrinkling her nose.

"You'll like this. Trust me." Oliver held one of the glasses towards her.

Felicity took the glass he offered and they tapped their glasses together. "What should we toast to?"

"To friendship." Oliver brought the glass to his lips but didn't sip when he realized her glass was still resting on her lap.

Felicity raised her glass, "To the very exclusive club we belong to." Seeing Oliver's confusion she said. "The, _my mom has had me kidnapped club_."

"Can't argue with that." They both took a drink. "Our moms were complicated women."

Oliver had been right. She did like the whiskey. It was smooth and was spreading a delicious warmth throughout her body. It was making her feel a bit bold. "When you think about it, all of your mom's bad choices were really ill advised plans to keep you safe. You're lucky, Oliver, she loved you and Thea. Despite her faults, she loved you and Thea more than her own life. My mom, on the other hand, was only ever looking out for herself. I'm pretty sure she'd have shot me if she thought it would get her the money she asked for."

Oliver sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite from her. His knees were pressing into the seat on either side of her knees. They watched each other as they each took another sip, her glass returning to her lap. Oliver wrapped his hand around hers. "Hey, how're you holding up?"

"I'm okay. A little tired, but okay." The truth was Felicity wasn't quite sure if she was okay or not. How should someone feel after their mom is murdered right in front of them? As she looked at Oliver, she realized he was the best person to share this day with. It wasn't just a platitude when he told her he knew how she was feeling. "How are you? Today must have been hard for you too."

"I'm okay, Felicity. I think today was good for me. I got to say some things to her that I didn't get to say the day of her funeral." His eyes welled up with tears and he dropped his head. Felicity leaned forward so their heads were touching. "I got to tell her that I'm sorry that I brought Slade Wilson into our lives."

"She knew you loved her and she was proud of you." Felicity said gently.

After a few minutes, Oliver lifted his head and sat up straight. His eyes were clear and she knew he was done speaking about Moira. "Do you want to tell me why Vic dropped you off but didn't stay?" She could see the muscles flexing along his jaw.

Felicity took a large drink of her whiskey. Oliver was going to find out sooner or later, might as well be now. "We broke up."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his mouth and then his eyes, finally dragging it over the top of his head. "I've got to say that breaking up with a girl the day of her mom's funeral is a pretty dickish move and I'm an expert on dickish moves."

Felicity was pretty sure pre-island Oliver had cornered the market on dickish moves. "Hey, who says he broke up with me?"

"I thought you liked him. Did you break up with him?" He had the good grace not to sound surprised.

"No." Felicity took another drink. "But, I probably should have."

"Do you want me to put an arrow in him?" Felicity laughed as Oliver mimed pulling back a bow string. "Because I've honestly wanted to shoot an arrow into that guy since your first date."

"I appreciate the offer, but it's not necessary. He's a good guy." The smile left her face. Her relationship hadn't been perfect, but she'd really liked Vic and she was going to miss his friendship.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Oliver said gently, his eyes full of concern.

Felicity could feel herself blushing and drained her glass. Oliver raised his brows inquisitively and poured half of his drink into her glass. She took another sip. "He didn't appreciate that I called out for you in my sleep last night." _And he thinks I'm in love with you, _she thought to herself.

His eyes went wide as he fought to keep a smile from his lips. "I could see how that could cause a problem." Oliver finished his drink. "I feel like I should apologize."

"For once, this isn't your fault." Felicity teased. It felt like they were forever reassuring each other that they were innocent from blame.

"You're having a really crappy day," he said with a rueful smile.

Felicity smiled and finished her drink. "I really am."

"Refill?" Oliver asked reaching for her empty glass.

"How about the rest of the bottle?" She asked with grin."I just realized I don't have a place to stay tonight. " The police were still not allowing her back into her apartment.

Oliver rose from his position on the coffee table. "I'm sure Walter will be more than happy for us to crash here. He's already expecting that we're staying for dinner."

"You're going to stay here?" She asked, her head tilted up to see his face.

Oliver gave her a smile that reached his eyes and made her heart flutter. "If you're here, where else would I be? Besides, if I'm helping you finish a bottle of whiskey, I'm not going anywhere tonight." Felicity watched Oliver leave the room. She could feel the warmth of the whiskey radiating out from her stomach. She slipped off her shoes and tucked her feet underneath her legs. She pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders and rested her head against the chair.

Oliver returned with a full bottle of whiskey and placed it on the end table next to her chair. "If we're getting drunk, you need to eat something."Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out two sandwiches neatly wrapped inside cloth napkins.

Felicity took half of one of the sandwiches. "Got anything else in your pockets?"

Oliver reached inside his other pocket and pulled out another cloth napkin. When he unfolded the napkin, four cookies were revealed. Felicity giggled as she reached for two cookies, "My hero."

Oliver held the cookies slightly away from her. "You have to promise me something."

Felicity smiled. "Anything."

"You can't tell Diggle I got you drunk." Oliver looked like a kid who was worried his parents were going to find out he got after school detention. Although, she was pretty sure Oliver was more afraid of Diggle's disapproval than he ever was of his parents'.

"Agreed. We shall never speak of this to Dig, ever." Oliver smiled and extended his hand with the cookies.

Felicity hadn't been hungry until she took the first bite of her sandwich. As the flavors exploded in her mouth, she greedily took the other half of her sandwich. She really hadn't eaten anything since lunch on the day of her abduction. "A girl could get use to this."

"Eating?" Oliver asked after he swallowed his bite of sandwich.

"No, not eating. Having someone cook for me. There are days where I think I need to get an old-fashioned nineteen-fifties wife. You know, someone who will cook, clean and run errands." Felicity was surprised to see the look of shock on Oliver's face. "What? I have two full time jobs."

"It's called a staff." Oliver stated as he took another bite.

"Well , most of us can't afford a staff." It really was shocking how out of touch he could be with mere mortals.

"Don't remind me. I went to a Laundromat last week." He was grinning at her like he couldn't wait for her reaction. Felicity stopped with the sandwich half way to her mouth. The thought of Oliver sitting in a Laundromat, watching his Armani boxer briefs spin in an industrial dryer, was too much. "I think washing my clothes in a stream and drying them on rocks was far more sanitary."

She couldn't help herself and began to laugh. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh at you. It's so hard not being a billionaire."

"Hey, I spent five years without a maid or a cook." His indignation was belied by the smile that was plastered across his face.

"I know, however did you manage?" Felicity asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I spent twenty-seven years without a maid or a cook. Where's my sympathy?"

"When did you stop feeling sorry for my ordeal?" Oliver teased.

"I feel sorry for a lot of what you went through, but I can't bring myself to feel sorry for the Laundromat." She moved to take one of her cookies.

"Give me back your cookies." Oliver placed his hand over the cookies Felicity had placed on her lap.

"Oliver Queen, take your hands off my cookies." They both blushed at her command, but Oliver took the cookies anyway.

He put both of the cookies into his mouth and couldn't keep a satisfied grin from his face. Felicity gaped in feigned outrage. She leaned forward and retrieved the two cookies Oliver had returned to his jacket pocket earlier. Victorious, she held the cookies over her head. She put her right hand against his chest when he made a move towards her . "You wouldn't take cookies from a girl wearing a cast, would you?" She batted her eyes at him.

Oliver gently took her right hand in his and pressed her fingers to his lips. "Felicity, there are no rules when it comes to cookies." Without taking his eyes from hers or dropping her right hand, he took the cookies from her left hand. He let go of her and moved out of her personal space and popped the treats into his mouth, one at a time.

A stunned Felicity sank into her chair. The whiskey was making her warm and she knew she was more than a little flushed. She was enjoying spending time with playful Oliver. "You ate my cookies. You're a monster."

"That's what you get for making fun of me and my laundry." Felicity gave him her most innocent and sorrowful expression. "Okay, I'll forgive you and I'm such a good guy, I'm going to get you more cookies. "Do you need anything else?" She held up her glass and he poured her a finger's worth. "Pace yourself. Walter will be disappointed if we don't make it to dinner." Oliver removed his jacket and draped it on the back of the sofa.

Felicity finished the sandwich and her whiskey while she waited for him to return. She had just finished refilling both of their glasses when Oliver returned with a giant silver tray of cookies. "Did you rob a bakery?"

"Just Walter's kitchen. I wasn't sure which you'd want." Oliver squeezed into the oversized chair with Felicity. He placed the tray across their laps. She handed him his glass and tapped it with her own. They both took a drink. Felicity helped herself to a cookie filled with jam. "I feel like I'm about to embark on a shame spiral."

"A shame spiral?" Oliver asked as he selected a cookie.

"You don't do shame spirals, you work out like a demon possessed. Thank you for that. It is my favorite perk of my night job." She grinned at him. Oliver started to say something and smiled. He tried to speak again, but was thwarted by his own gentle laugh and smile. It was usually what happened to him when she said something he couldn't believe she said aloud and he couldn't believe he found amusing. Felicity knew that this was a power she had over him and what drew him back to her after he first brought her a laptop riddled with bullets and asked for her help. Instead of finishing his thought he tapped his glass against hers and they both took a drink.

"Unfortunately, I process through food not exercise, so my shame spirals usually involve alcohol," she lifted her glass, "sugar," she lifted a cookie from the tray, "and hours of YouTube videos or really bad made-for-tv- romance movies. It ends when I wake the next morning full of regret."

"I'll try to keep your regrets to a minimum. No Lifetime movies or cat videos for you tonight." Oliver teased.

"I think the booze and the cookies will give me plenty to regret in the morning." Oliver lifted the tray and raised one finger. She bit her lip and took two cookies. He stretched and put the tray onto the coffee table. "Oh, we should go dancing."

"What? Now?" Oliver asked with mild alarm.

Felicity drained her glass and sat up on her knees. "I've never gone partying with Oliver Queen. We've been to plenty of parties, but we've never done the whole scene together. I think it would be fun to see what that's like."

"You're drunk." He said trying to pry her glass from her fingers. She refused to relinquish her glass and defiantly refilled it.

"I'm not a fun drunk." Felicity took another sip of whiskey.

"I'm pretty entertained." Oliver said drolly as he put his own glass down on the table.

"When I get drunk I get weepy and sleepy. I'm not dancing on tabletops or fighting with cops." Felicity sank back into the chair.

"Do you want to do those things?" He tucked the blanket back around her.

"You always looked like you were having fun." She took another drink. "Don't get me wrong, you were a complete ass, but you looked like an ass who was having fun. Do you miss it?"

Oliver looked thoughtful. "I guess if you asked me back then I would've said I was having fun."

"But now?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Now, when I think about it, my life was pretty empty. I hurt a lot of people. Can you call something fun if you hurt someone?" Oliver looked as if he were asking her for absolution.

Felicity's heart broke for him. He was a good man who'd been dealt a terrible hand. If someone told her that she could go back in time and keep him from getting on the Queen's Gambit, she would do it. Even knowing that he wouldn't be the man sitting with her today, he would've been spared all that pain and suffering. If she could take all that away from him, she would, but listening to him now, she was rethinking her position. He didn't like who he was before the island. Without the island he most likely would've stayed the vapid playboy. She thought that maybe Oliver wouldn't be willing to make that trade if it were offered to him. "We should make this year about being happy." She said gently. Oliver arched an eyebrow at her. "I mean we can still save the city but we should focus on happy. You once told me that nothing good happened to you for five years. That's sad, Oliver, really sad. Now that you're home you should do more than survive, you should live - you should have good things."

"I do have good things." Oliver said with a conviction that was not mirrored in his eyes.

"Oliver, this was a very bad year." Felicity could feel her words beginning to slur a little. "You lost your company, I lost my job. You got shot, I got shot. You got dumped, I got dumped. Your mom died, my mom died. This was a bad year." She took another drink. "But Diggle is having a baby, so that's a good thing. We should do that." She watched his eyes widen. "Not have a baby, but have a good thing happen. No more getting shot. No more getting dumped."

A strand of hair had come loose from her ponytail and he tucked it behind her ear. "You're right, we should focus on making good things happen this year. You deserve it."

"You deserve it too." Felicity rested her head back against the cushion. "I miss your money."

Oliver began to laugh. "You really are drunk."

She sat up with wide eyes. "I don't want you to feel bad, but I really miss your money. My babies are a mess. I need new servers. It's dire." She leaned forward and loudly whispered. "Can I tell you something?"

A smile spread across his face as he tucked the same wayward strand of hair back behind her ear. "You can tell me anything."

"I've been thinking about robbing a bank. Not with a mask and a gun, but with my computers. I'm sure there is someone on the list who has ill gotten gains that I can purloin for our use, but"

"But?" Oliver was struggling to keep a straight face and trying his best not to laugh at her.

"Even if I robbed a guy from the list, I think the Arrow might shoot me." She was grinning at him as she took another drink.

Oliver gave her his best Arrow face. "It wouldn't be a good thing if the Arrow had to shoot his partner."

"It's just not me who needs stuff. We are low on supplies. You're arrows don't grow on trees, you know. Not to mention your pants." Felicity stared at the ceiling as she took a mental inventory of everything they needed.

"My pants?" Oliver grinned.

"Yes, your pants." Felicity looked offended. "You go through pants and jackets like tissues. As much as I'd like you to stop getting shot and stabbed, I'm pretty sure you're not planning on it, so, I'm going to have to start patching them and I'm pretty sure your badass reputation will be called into question if your suit starts to look like a patchwork quilt. We also need to do something about Roy?"

"Roy?" Oliver's grin had turned into a full blown smile.

"Yeah, Roy. He can't go out there in his red hoodie every night. It is pretty recognizable. I don't know about you, but I'm going to be pretty pissed if we get brought down by a ratty sweatshirt. He needs a suit of his own. I've got the design, I just need to get it made. I'd like Diggle to get a suit, but he is pretty adamant that he won't wear one. I think he just might be more stubborn than you. Who knew that was possible?"

She was about to take another drink when he took the glass from her hand and placed it on the table. "I think we've had enough, for now." She furrowed her brow and crossed her arms across her chest. "What if I promise you that when I get my fortune back, the very first thing I buy is a server for you?"

Felicity threw her arms around his neck, a huge smile spreading across her face. "Thank you." Tears began to spill from her eyes. Oliver was always so thoughtful when it came to subsidizing her tech. Except for the x-ray machine, whatever she asked for he always provided, no questions asked. He could be selfish, especially when it came to his sense of duty - no one brooded like Oliver, but he'd put her first more times than she could count.

Oliver gently wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb. "Hey, don't cry. It's just a server." He sat back, placed his arm across the back of the chair and pulled Felicity into his side. His hand was on her shoulder and his fingers stroked the end of her ponytail. "Do you want to tell me how you're really doing?"

Felicity rested her head against his shoulder. She didn't know how to explain to him what the life she had now meant to her. If someone had told her when she was a child that this would be her life, she wouldn't have believed it. She never would've believed that she would have people in her life who would accept, love, protect and fight for her. "When I was little I would wish that some beautiful couple would show up at my school and tell me there had been a mistake at the hospital when I was born. I had been sent home with the wrong parents and they were there to take me home to my real family. Silly, I know, but there wasn't a day that I didn't dread going home."

"Oliver rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I wish I had known you then."

Felicity pulled away so she could look at him. She wished she had had an Oliver back then - someone who made her feel brave and strong, but she didn't. He wasn't even her Oliver back then, he was a spoiled rich kid who would've made fun of her second hand clothes and frizzy hair. "Oh, why? We would've hated each other."

Oliver looked pained by her words. "I can't imagine that I could ever have hated you. I think you would've charmed me then too."

Felicity returned her head to his shoulder. "You say that now, knowing the smooth and eloquent woman I am today." She was rewarded by a small rumble in his chest. "Imagine the rambling of a buck-toothed eight year old who spent all her free time assembling computers and writing code. I can only imagine ten year old Oliver would've found lots of things to hate about me."

"I wasn't so bad at ten. I didn't really understand that I was different or privileged. Money and my looks hadn't become a weapon or a shield that I could wield against my peers yet. I didn't really become terrible until puberty. Girls were my undoing." Oliver sighed and wrapped the end of her ponytail around his hand. "You would've hated me at thirteen and rightfully so, but I think we could've been friends when I was ten."

"It would've been nice to have a friend. It wasn't easy to socialize when I could never have anyone over and most of my classmates' moms didn't want their kids playing with me. Your mom didn't want you to be my friend now, I can only imagine what she would've said if she met Donna." She absently traced patterns across his knee.

He ignored her attempts to distract him with a discussion about his mom."That must've been lonely."

"I guess." Felicity thought about all the days she came home to an empty apartment or to her mom passed out drunk with a stranger. Her childhood had been pretty lonely. If only she had Oliver and his kind blue eyes and easy smile in her life back then, maybe it wouldn't have been so bad. "High School was better, I found my niche."

Oliver absently stroked the piercing in her right ear. "Is that when you got this?"

Felicity touched her ear. "Yes, I was going through a phase and this was my act of rebellion. My mom wanted me to start bringing in money. She'd obtained a fake ID for me so I could work as a cocktail waitress at some club she worked at. I needed to be pretty and non threatening, instead, I dyed my hair super black, got the piercing, wore black lipstick and nail polish. She was pissed, but she never asked me to work tables again."

"You were Goth?" Oliver asked incredulously. "I must see pictures."

Felicity smiled. "Not exactly Goth. I was more Goth/Grunge, if there is such a thing."

Oliver rubbed his fingers across her robin's egg blue nail polish. "I always think of you and color. I can't imagine you head to toe in black."

"It was a dark time, in my closet. When I started college I reinvented myself. I went blonde and embraced everything colorful. There was something about being surrounded by all those guys that made me go to the extreme girlie side of the spectrum - but I kept the piercing." Felicity reached for her glass and Oliver didn't stop her. She took a drink. "I was so excited to go to college. I wasn't the weird nerd anymore - I was just one of many crazy smart people who liked what I liked. But, the thing I liked best was that no one knew I was Donna Smoak's daughter." Felicity could feel tears beginning to sting her eyes. "No one was whispering, _Poor kid, her mom was arrested again_, or _Did you hear? Her mom was thrown out of the diner for being drunk._ I was so happy pretending she didn't exist. I only went home once in four years. I started interning at QC the summer before my sophomore year because the internship included housing." Felicity began to cry. "Oliver, I was ashamed of her and most of the time I hated her, but she was there and she was mine and now she's dead. I'm all alone."

Oliver wrapped his arms around her and cradled her head against his chest. "Felicity, you are not alone. As long as I'm here, you will never be alone." Felicity tightened her grip on his shirt.

"I'm sorry that you got pulled into my family drama. It isn't fair to you." Felicity said into his shirt. "You're still grieving your mom."

Oliver took hold of her shoulders and gently pushed her away from his chest so he could see her eyes. "If we were keeping score, which we're not, you wouldn't even come close to how much family drama I've involved you in. If I were to thank you every day for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be enough. Okay?"

She nodded her head and he pulled her back into his chest. "I'm so tired, I think I could fall asleep."

"Close your eyes." Oliver began to stroke her head and rub her back. "I'm here and I'm not leaving."

Felicity closed her eyes and began to match her breathing to Oliver's. The whiskey and his hands were making her relax and she could feel herself beginning to drift away. "Oliver?"

"Mmmm." His hands continuing to gently stroke her head and arms.

"Before my mom, before she died, you were about to answer her question. What were you going to say?" Felicity's fingers involuntarily flexed on his abdomen as she waited for his response.

His hands stilled for just a moment and he pressed his lips to her ear and whispered, "The truth."

Felicity pressed a small smile into his side, sighed and allowed herself to drift asleep in his arms. Just before she fell asleep she promised herself the next time Oliver told her that he loved her, and she knew in her heart there would be a next time, she would say it back.

**Notes: Thank you for reading, ****_The Ties That Bind_****. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will be adding another part to this story under a separate title. The story will continue the day after the funeral and will be from Oliver's point of view. He will finally confess his true feelings to Felicity. I will be posting the first chapter a week from today. **


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